Holders Italy, France, Spain and Ukraine will contest the semi-finals of UEFA U19 Euro 2024 in Belfast.
France drew with Spain yesterday to top Group B – and the draw meant Group B runners-up Spain will now face Italy in the last four, while France will take on Group A runners-up Ukraine.
The semi-finals will both take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park on Thursday (25 July). First up is the Italy v Spain game at 2pm, while France-Ukraine has a 7pm kick-off.
Norway and Turkiye, who finished third in groups A and B respectively, will have a play-off game on Thursday with the winner advancing to next year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile. That game is being staged at Seaview Stadium in Belfast (4.30pm). The four semi-finalists will also be heading to Chile for that tournament.
The last two games in Group A were staged on Sunday – and like all the final group games they kicked off simultaneously.
Northern Ireland’s U19s, with one point from their first two group games, had to defeat Norway at Seaview to earn a play-off place at the very least or reach the last four if Italy could beat Ukraine.
However, it was not to be for Gareth McAuley’s plucky young squad.
Norwegian keeper Martin Børsheim was alert to drop low and parry Northern Ireland midfielder Dylan Stitt's drive from the edge of the Norway penalty area.
Chances were rare in the first half, 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 Pierce Charles' left post – and he later rattled the woodwork twice in search of his hat-trick. Despite the 2-0 win, Norway finished third.
Over at Inver Park in Larne, Ukraine’s Hennadii Synchuk broke the deadlock against a much-changed Italy side already through to the semi-finals, having claimed six points in their first two matches.
Tommaso Ebone responded on 34 minutes, and Italy took control of the match for the first time through Marco Romano's 52nd-minute goal.
However, two minutes later Ukraine were back on level terms thanks to Danylo Krevsun. Matvii Ponomarenko then dispatched from the spot on 75 minutes to give Ukraine a 3-2 victory, three points and a place in the semi-finals, Italy having lost Christian Corradi to a second yellow card after conceding the penalty.
Yesterday’s game at Inver saw France top the Group B table thanks to a last-gasp equaliser against the Spanish. The game ended 2-2.
Despite immediate Spain pressure with two early David Mella chances, against the run of play Saimon Bouabre was able to find space and fire France in front with a tremendous strike on 13 minutes.
The sides were evenly matched – even though French coach Bernard Diomede heavily rotated his starting line-up – but France went close again in the 41st minute. This time Yarek Gasiorowski needed to put his body on the line to block Sael Kumbedi's dangerous effort.
Dani Rodríguez's fine 65th-minute strike brought parity, and as Spain's momentum grew Wassim Keddari (Simo) rose highest to head the winning goal and propel José Lana's side to the section summit.
In a final twist, Valentin Atangana came off the bench to send France back to the top and claim first place in Group B.
There was also a real thriller at Seaview yesterday, with Turkiye and Denmark involved in a 3-3 draw.
Oscar Schwartau's strike from a tight angle gave Denmark the lead, only for Emir Bars to level with a drilled finish.
Poyraz Yıldırım's beautiful curling effort edged Türkiye ahead after half-time before Mikel Krüger-Johnsen equalised with a deft chip.
A powerful Efe Sarıkaya header looked to have won it for Türkiye, but Denmark responded once again, Alexander Simmelhack smashing the ball home to earn a point.
Group A was won by Italy with six points from three games, while Ukraine finished second with five points, just ahead of Norway on four points. Northern Ireland had one point to show for their efforts.
France’s draw with Spain saw them top Group A on seven points. The Spanish were runners-up with five, while Turkiye finished with two points and Denmark with one.
The Irish Football Association is hosting U19 Euro 2024 along with UEFA. For highlights of the action so far go to the UEFA Under-19 section on uefa.com.
To buy tickets to U19 Euros matches go to irishfa.com/u19euro.
Image: Valentin Atangana struck late for France against Spain yesterday to secure top spot in Group B for the French.
