In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. From its origins to its impact on today's society, 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship has played a crucial role in people's lives, influencing culture, technology and the way we relate to each other. Throughout history, 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship has been the subject of study and debate, generating conflicting opinions and awakening the curiosity of millions of people around the world. With this article, we will seek to shed light on the most relevant aspects of 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, analyzing its importance and the implications it has on our daily lives.
2016 UEFA U-17 Avropa Çempionatı | |
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Tournament details | |
Host country | Azerbaijan |
Dates | 5–21 May |
Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
Venue(s) | 4 (in 1 host city) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Portugal (6th title) |
Runners-up | Spain |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 31 |
Goals scored | 73 (2.35 per match) |
Attendance | 61,606 (1,987 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | José Gomes (7 goals) |
Best player(s) | José Gomes |
The 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 15th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship (34th edition if the Under-16 era is included), the annual European international youth football championship contested by the men's under-17 national teams of UEFA member associations. Azerbaijan, which were selected by UEFA on 20 March 2012, hosted the tournament between 5 and 21 May 2016.
A total of 16 teams competed in the final tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 1999 eligible to participate. Each match had a duration of 80 minutes, consisting of two halves of 40 minutes with a 15-minute half-time.
Portugal were crowned champions for the second time in the under-17 era, and sixth time overall, after beating Spain in the final 5–4 through a penalty shootout. France were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the group stage.
The national teams from all 54 UEFA member associations entered the competition. With Azerbaijan automatically qualified as hosts, the other 53 teams contested a qualifying competition to determine the remaining 15 spots in the final tournament. The qualifying competition consisted of two rounds: the qualifying round, which took place in autumn 2015, and the elite round, which took place in spring 2016.
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament:
Note: All appearance statistics include only U-17 era (since 2002).
Team | Method of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
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Azerbaijan | Hosts | 1st | — | Debut |
Denmark | Elite round Group 1 winners | 4th | 2011 | Semi-finals (2011) |
Scotland | Elite round Group 1 runners-up | 4th | 2015 | Semi-finals (2014) |
Ukraine | Elite round Group 2 winners | 5th | 2013 | Group stage (2002, 2004, 2007, 2013) |
England | Elite round Group 2 runners-up | 11th | 2015 | Champions (2010, 2014) |
Italy | Elite round Group 3 winners | 6th | 2015 | Runners-up (2013) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Elite round Group 3 runners-up | 1st | — | Debut |
Germany | Elite round Group 4 winners | 9th | 2015 | Champions (2009) |
Netherlands | Elite round Group 4 runners-up | 10th | 2015 | Champions (2011, 2012) |
Portugal | Elite round Group 5 winners | 6th | 2014 | Champions (2003) |
Sweden | Elite round Group 5 runners-up | 2nd | 2013 | Semi-finals (2013) |
France | Elite round Group 6 winners | 10th | 2015 | Champions (2004, 2015) |
Austria | Elite round Group 6 runners-up | 5th | 2015 | Third place (2003) |
Serbia | Elite round Group 7 winners | 5th | 2011 | Quarter-finals (2002) |
Belgium | Elite round Group 8 winners | 5th | 2015 | Semi-finals (2007, 2015) |
Spain | Elite round Group 8 runners-up | 10th | 2015 | Champions (2007, 2008) |
The final draw was held on 8 April 2016, 12:00 AZT (UTC+4), at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. Hosts Azerbaijan were assigned to position A1 in the draw, while the other teams were seeded according to their results in the qualification elite round, with the seven best elite round group winners (counting all elite round results) placed in Pot 1 and drawn to positions 1 and 2 in the groups, and the remaining eight teams placed in Pot 2 and drawn to positions 3 and 4 in the groups.
The tournament was hosted in four venues, all in Baku:
Baku | Baku | |||
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Baku Olympic Stadium | Azersun Arena | Bakcell Arena | Dalga Arena | |
Capacity: 68,000 | Capacity: 4,735 | Capacity: 10,500 | Capacity: 6,700 | |
Each national team had to submit a squad of 18 players.
A total of 8 referees, 12 assistant referees and 4 fourth officials were appointed for the final tournament.
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The final tournament schedule was confirmed on 12 April 2016.
The group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals.
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
All times were local, AZT (UTC+4).
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Portugal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 7 | Knockout stage |
2 | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | |
3 | Azerbaijan (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 4 | |
4 | Scotland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
Azerbaijan | 0–5 | Portugal |
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Report | Gomes 4', 16' Asadov 24' (o.g.) Miguel Luís 44' Fernandes 76' |
Azerbaijan | 1–1 | Belgium |
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Mahmudov 77' | Report | Bongiovanni 72' |
Scotland | 0–1 | Azerbaijan |
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Report | Nabiyev 79' |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | Knockout stage |
2 | Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | |
3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
4 | Ukraine | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 1 |
Austria | 2–0 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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Baumgartner 18', 35' | Report |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–1 | Ukraine |
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B. Hadžić 38', 41' | Report | Kulakov 69' |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Knockout stage |
2 | England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | |
3 | Denmark | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | |
4 | France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 1 |
Denmark | 1–0 | Sweden |
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Buch Jensen 83' | Report |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Knockout stage |
2 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | |
3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 3 | |
4 | Serbia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
Netherlands | 0–2 | Spain |
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Report | Mboula 16' Ruiz 52' |
Italy | 0–1 | Netherlands |
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Report | Nunnely 78' |
Serbia | 0–2 | Netherlands |
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Report | M. Ilić 72' (o.g.) Vente 81' |
In the knockout stage, a penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time was played).
Following a consultation between the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) and UEFA, it was decided to change the venue for the semi-finals and final from the Baku Olympic Stadium to the Dalga Arena and Bakcell Arena, respectively.
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
14 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Portugal | 5 | |||||||||
18 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Austria | 0 | |||||||||
Portugal | 2 | |||||||||
15 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Netherlands | 0 | |||||||||
Sweden | 0 | |||||||||
21 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Netherlands | 1 | |||||||||
Portugal (p) | 1 (5) | |||||||||
14 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Spain | 1 (4) | |||||||||
Germany | 1 | |||||||||
18 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Belgium | 0 | |||||||||
Germany | 1 | |||||||||
15 May – Baku | ||||||||||
Spain | 2 | |||||||||
Spain | 1 | |||||||||
England | 0 | |||||||||
Sweden | 0–1 | Netherlands |
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Report | Chong 62' |
Portugal | 2–0 | Netherlands |
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Gomes 25' Dalot 56' |
Report |
Portugal | 1–1 | Spain |
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Dalot 27' | Report | Díaz 32' |
Penalties | ||
Gomes Jota Leite Dalot Fernandes |
5–4 | Ruiz Busquets Chumi Díaz Morlanes |
Note: José Gomes scored a total of 16 goals in the 2014–15 and 2015–16 season (including qualifying), making him the competition's all-time top scorer.
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his seven goals in Azerbaijan also making him the competition's all-time leading marksman