Published: Thursday 5 April 2012, 18.44CET
Four
teams will make their finals debut at the 2012 UEFA European Women's
Under-19 Championship after Portugal and Serbia booked places alongside
already-qualified Romania and hosts Turkey. Sweden, England and Spain
also sealed top spot in their second qualifying round groups, and
Denmark secured the best runners-up berth. Yet holders Germany miss out
for the first time in the competition's 11-year history, one of several
high-profile casualties.
Group 1 (qualifier: Portugal)
Last
season's runners-up Norway thought they had snatched a last-minute
ticket to Turkey when, in the second minute of added time, Andrea Thun
struck to earn a 3-2 win against the Czech Republic. Yet the section's
other game also ended in drama as Portugal's Vanessa Rodrigues headed in
an 89th-minute winner versus Belgium, sending the mini-tournament hosts
through by virtue of a superior head-to-head record against Norway.
Group 2 (Sweden)
It
also went down to the wire in Vasteras, where Germany needed victory
against Sweden. The holders had already hit the post when they fell
behind to Elin Rubensson's composed strike (36), and rattled the
crossbar after the interval but Sweden held on. "If you are Germany you
should always qualify for the European Championship; it is a
disappointment," said Germany coach Maren Meinert. Northern Ireland beat
Poland 3-0 in the other fixture.
Group 3 (Romania)
Romania
had already sealed progress and rounded off qualifying with another
impressive performance, drawing 1-1 with the Netherlands. But for Sabine
Becx's 89th-minute strike it would have been victory, though the damage
had been done to the Oranje's aspirations of securing the best
runners-up spot. They finish third behind 2010 champions France, who
beat Iceland thanks to an early Marion Leroy goal.
Group 4 (Serbia, Denmark)
Nevena
Damjanović was again the inspiration for Serbia, scoring the only goal
against Switzerland as Milan Rastavac's side made it three wins from
three. Denmark finished second, Camilla Andersen's tenth goal in
qualifying completing a 2-0 success against point-less Republic of
Ireland, and they edged through as the runners-up with the best record
against the teams first and third in their section.
Group 5 (Spain)Spain
wrapped up the section with a victory over Scotland that was never
really in doubt from the moment Marina García (28) broke the deadlock.
Shelley Kerr's side fought all the way, pulling it back to 2-1 and then,
in added time, 3-2. There was also only one goal in it between Russia
and Italy, Azzurrine skipper Lisa Alborghetti scoring from the spot nine
minutes from time.
Group 6 (England)
Danielle
Carter's first-half strike earned England a hard-fought triumph over
Austria as the 2009 champions sealed a return to the finals having
missed out last season. It means Wales, who will host the 2013 event,
finish second despite a predatory 90th-minute winner from Finland's
Ella-Rosa Huusko condemning them to a 2-1 defeat.
Final standings
The
seven qualifiers will join hosts Turkey in the finals from 2 to 14
July, with the final tournament draw taking place on 24 May.
