The Irish Football Association hosted this year’s UEFA Men’s Under-19 European Championship back in the summer – and it was a huge success.
Group stage games in the eight-team tournament were played at Seaview in Belfast and Larne’s Inver Park, while the semi-finals and final were staged at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast.
UEFA U19 Euro 2024 attracted a record-breaking 29,000 spectators in total, with 8,358 attending the final between Spain and France.
Gareth McAuley’s Northern Ireland U19 side faced Ukraine, Italy and Norway in Group A, while Group B featured Spain, France, Denmark and Turkiye.
McAuley’s team warmed up for the tournament in July with two international challenge matches against Slovakia the previous month.
In the first game they drew 2-2 with the Slovaks, with Lewis Trickett and Braiden Graham on the scoresheet, and it was a 1-1 draw in game two. Reece Evans was the scorer in that one.
Northern Ireland’s first game at the U19 Euros saw them take on Ukraine at Inver Park. It was a cagey, tense affair.
The U19s were forced to defend for much of the first half, although striker Braiden Graham forced Ukrainian keeper Vladyslav Krapyvtsov into a fine save just before the break.
Both sides showed glimpses of promise after the interval, but Pierce Charles continued to be kept busy in the Northern Ireland goal – producing notable saves in the 73rd and 90th minutes to ensure it was goalless at full-time.
Italy began their three-match Group A campaign with a 2-1 win over Norway, while Spain edged past Denmark and France defeated Turkiye on the same scoreline in Group B.
Kevin Zeroli's volley in the 15th minute put Italy in front against Northern Ireland on matchday two in Group A – and the Italians never looked back.
Francesco Camarda, a star at the U17 Euros this year, doubled the lead at Inver Park on the stroke of half-time and three minutes into the second half Camarda struck again.
Northern Ireland grafted to create chances, and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Braiden Graham appeared to be hauled down inside the penalty area, however Italy were the better team overall and ran out 3-0 winners.
Matchday two in Group A also saw Ukraine and Norway draw 0-0 at Seaview.
In Group B’s second instalment France defeated the Danes 4-2 in Larne and Spain were held to a 1-1 draw by Turkiye in Belfast.
Northern Ireland’s final game at the tournament was staged at Seaview. They lost out 2-0 to Norway, while Ukraine defeated the Italians by three goals to two in Larne.
Chances were rare in the first half in the game between Northern Ireland and the Norwegians, but in the 34th minute Daniel Braut poked Norway in front from close range as Northern Ireland scrambled to clear their lines.
Picked out by Travis Hernes' neat delivery, Braut was on hand again in the 65th minute to steer the ball expertly inside Northern Ireland keeper Charles' left post.
In the final set of matches in Group B the Spanish and French drew 2-2 at Inver, while Turkiye and Denmark were involved in a 3-3 thriller at Seaview.
At the semi-final stage Jose Lana’s Spanish side scored in extra time to edge past Italy by a goal to nil, while France defeated Ukraine 1-0 as well.
The Italians created more chances than the Spanish in their last four encounter, but they could not find the back of the net.
In extra time Italy had chances before Spain grabbed the only goal of the game on 100 minutes. Full-back Julio Diaz delivered the ball across the face of goal where substitute Pol Fortuny slotted it home.
In the second semi-final France defeated Ukraine in regulation time.
Ukraine were defensively well drilled and hard to break down, however France captain and midfield powerhouse Valentin Atangana finally broke the deadlock on 61 minutes – and it proved to be the winner.
Meanwhile, at Seaview, the teams who finished third in the two groups had a play-off for a place at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile. And it was Norway who edged past Turkiye following a gripping penalty shootout.
Rasmus Holten gave the Norwegians the lead on 16 minutes and Turkey equalised in the 81st minute through Isak Vural.
The teams could not be separated in extra time, so a shootout ensued. Remarkably Norway scored all 10 of their penalties, while Turkiye missed their 10th penalty.
All four semi-finalists at this year’s UEFA Men’s U19 European Championship also earned a spot at the U20 World Cup.
Spain won the UEFA Men’s Under-19 European Championship title after defeating 10-man France in the final at the National Football Stadium.
Goals from player of the match Iker Bravo and Assane Diao gave the Spanish a deserved victory by two goals to nil in the U19 Euros decider.
Spain got their tactics spot on. Influential France captain Atangana was nullified by the Spanish midfield, while Spain’s defensive line held firm against France’s lively attackers. The centre back pairing of Simo and Yarek Gasiorowski were steady as a rock.
The Spanish opened the scoring on 41 minutes through Bravo, while Diao came off the bench on 68 minutes and made quite an impact. A minute after coming on he played a one-two with Cristian Perea and ran towards goal. His pull-back on the edge of the area hit covering French defender Jeremy Jacquet and spun over the keeper into the back of the net to make it 2-0 to Spain – and that was how it finished.
Image: Spain celebrate their success at the U19 Euros in Northern Ireland.
