TECHNICAL REPORT 2 CONTENTS ENGLISH SECTION 3 Tournament Overview 4 Two MMs – One Winner 6 Talking Points 8 PARTIE FRANÇAISE 9 Vue d’ensemble du tournoi 10 Deux MM – Un vainqueur 12 Points de discussion 14 DEUTSCHER TEIL 15 Turnierüberblick 16 Zwei MMs – Eine Siegerin 18 Diskussionspunkte 20 STATISTICS 21 Results 22 Team of the Tournament / Leading Scorers 25 UEFA Technical Study Group 26 Match Officials 27 Denmark 28 England 29 France 30 Germany 31 Iceland 32 Norway 33 Poland 34 Spain 35 Fair Play 36 Media Coverage 37 All-Time Winners 38 Front Cover: Couverture: Titelseite: We did it! England made them fight all On est les championnes! L’Angleterre a forcé son Wir haben’s geschafft! England leistete heftige the way, but it’s the German captain, Nadine Kessler, adversaire à se battre du début à la fin de la rencontre, Gegenwehr, doch am Ende konnte die deutsche Teamführerin who lifts the trophy in Iceland. mais c’est la capitaine de l’équipe allemande, Nadine Kessler in Island die Trophäe in die Luft stemmen. PAUL MOHAN / SPORTSFILE Nadine Kessler, qui lève le trophée en Islande. ENGLISH SECTION Introduction The final tournament of the 2007 European Women’s Under-19 Championship was impeccably organised by the Icelandic football association, using seven venues – four in Reykjavik and one apiece in nearby Akranes, Grindavík and Kópavogur. This was in contrast to the previous tournament, staged in two centres separated by a considerable distance. All participating delegations, match officials and organisational staff were accommodated at a single hotel in Reykjavik. The result was optimum conviviality. Playing and training surfaces received unanimous praise. Given the parameters of Icelandic football, it was logical that attendance figures would be unspectacular, especially as the host nation bowed out at the end of the group phase. They and Poland were debutants at a final tournament which featured only three of the teams who had been in Switzerland a year previously – Denmark, France and Germany. England, among the eight finalists in 2005, reached the Under-19 final for the first time. For the second year, there were educational briefings on doping controls and the dangers – to the individual and to the sport – of so-called performance-enhancing substances. Doping controls were then carried out during the tournament. Once again, the event was included in UEFA’s ongoing research into injury patterns. The 2007 finals produced a sharp decrease in comparison with the previous year when, apart from disputing the European crown, many of the competitors were also being groomed for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup which was to kick-off in Russia a few weeks later. Lower Icelandic temperatures may also have been an influencing factor. In playing terms, a 15-match schedule produced only one draw and the other 14 matches were won by the team that scored first. Germany’s status was confirmed by the country’s fifth victory in ten tournaments. Experience and maturity are assets and the Germans were able to select 12 players born in 1988 – more than any of the other finalists. By contrast, Spain had only two players at the top end of the age bracket and 10 of their squad were either 16 or 17. Even so, the tourna- ment underlined development at this level and Germany’s head coach, Maren Meinert, was quick to point out that no previous opponent had come back from two goals down against her team – as France did in the semi-finals – nor had any team taken her girls to extra time – as France and England did. The Germans went home with the trophy and the gold medals, but a highly competitive tournament in Iceland was a learning experience for each and every participant. PAUL MOHAN / SPORTSFILE PAUL Danish full-back Katrine Veje is sent flying by a mistimed tackle from Icelandic striker Rakel Honnudottir, who became the only player to be red-carded during the final tournament. 3 4 TOURNAMENT History repeated itself. Germany took the title, just as they had done in 2006, albeit scoring one goal fewer and conceding three more. A year earlier, Maren Meinert’s team had underlined its all-round strength by sharing the goalscoring among nine players. This time, there were eight names on tournament scoresheets. Monique Kerschowski scored the last goal of the event, as she had done in Switzerland. But this time, she also supplied the first – the winner in a closely-fought opener against Denmark which initiated a run of five straight wins. In other words, PAUL MOHAN / SPORTSFILE PAUL there is enough statistical evidence to suggest overwhelming German superiority. But Maren Meinert, champion for the second time at 33, was quick to point out that her side had been severely tested along the road to success. At Under-19 level, the margins between contestants are becoming slimmer. Even though the number of goals scored increased from 39 (2.6 per game) to 45 (3.0), well-organised defensive work was one of the salient features of the tour- nament. However, few teams travelled to Iceland with defensive priorities and German attacker Isabel Kerschowski slots the ball home they were welcomed by hosts who won friends and plaudits for a very positive and to round off a 4-2 win against France who, despite the brave approach to their first experience at the Under-19 finals. Olafur Gudbjornsson’s scoreline, came back from 2-0 down to force extra-time Icelandic team practised a good transition game based on fast, direct play and and give the champions a severe testing. a lot of heart to back their skills. They also had the mental resilience to bounce back from a traumatic 5-0 defeat in the opening game against Norway (despite creating good chances) and then fought back to 2-1 and 3-2 when trailing the Germans by two goals. But the lack of big-tournament experience took its toll in crucial moments of attacking and defensive play. The other faller in Group A was a Danish side which had been affected by pre- tournament injuries. Even so, Henrik Lehm was able to field a very strong, competi- tive team based on a nucleus of players who had been at the 2006 finals. He was concerned that the physical side of the game had become more demanding and admitted that his side produced better first halves than second halves. The Danes made good use of their wide players and produced some attractive combination PAUL MOHAN / SPORTSFILE PAUL moves – only for their campaign to be cruelly ended by a last-gasp Norwegian goal in their final group fixture. It was noticeable that the Norwegian side had been working on technique, as well as their traditional defensive strength and their ability to hit opponents with direct attacking. The squad was athletic, fit and equipped to build short-passing moves. Buoyed by an emphatic opening win against the hosts, they showed mental Iceland’s Fanndis Fridriksdottir, who scored all three resilience in the ‘make or break’ game against Denmark, coming back after con- of the hosts’ goals to share top place in the scoring chart, ceding a late equaliser to score the added-time winner which took them into a semi- holds off a challenge from Norway’s Ingrid Ryland final against England. Jarl Torske switched from a single to a double midfield during the opening match. screen but their game plan was undermined by individual mistakes and uncharac- teristic passing errors under severe pressure from the English middle-to-front players – which also meant that second-half switches to 3-4-3 and 3-3-4 failed to produce dividends. As Jarl Torske commented afterwards, they had been unable to create clear chances against England and Germany. Germany dominated Group A. Remaining faithful to their tactical traditions, they based their game on combination play, variation in build-ups, changes of tempo, and tactical awareness. Goals could come from anywhere in the team – eight players shared their 13 goals – and exceptional indi- viduals applied their strengths to the good of the team. Two straight wins allowed Maren Meinert to rotate her squad for the final group match (in which they conceded their two goals) and, as group winners, they went on to meet familiar rivals France in the semi-finals. Norwegian defender Maren Mjelde uses her power to hold off Danish midfielder Mathilde Madsen (8) during the Group A match tilted in Norway’s favour by PAUL MOHAN / SPORTSFILE PAUL an stoppage-time goal which sent the Danes home. OVERVIEW The French had surrendered top spot by losing to England in a Group B where the fallers were Spain and newcomers Poland. ‘Nacho’ Quereda’s Spanish team, the youngest of the tournament, displayed excellent technique, kept possession well and obviously enjoyed the football they were playing. Operating the 4-2-3-1 formation which is the norm for all Spanish men’s and women’s national teams, they were formidable opponents in footballing terms but were ultimately betrayed by shortages of pace and physical presence which translated into a failure to score goals against the English and the French. BRENDAN MORAN / SPORTSFILE Much the same could be said about Poland. Robert Góralczyk adjusted his tactical approach very effectively to his team’s strong points. A well-drilled deep defensive block made the Polish side very difficult to break down, even though the other side of the coin was an attack which produced some good moves but which, in the final reckoning, failed to produce a goal. The Poles started strongly and were within seconds of beating England, having successfully defended an advantage built on an own goal.