In one of his pre-World Cup posts, Chris provided the average ages of all the teams and listed them youngest to oldest. In hindsight- the list is even more fascinating to me. After revisiting this list, I think its fair to say some of the most exciting teams to watch at the World Cup were some of the youngest- Ghana (24.1), North Korea (24.8), Germany (25), Cameroon (25.2), Spain (25.9) and Chile (25.9) were the six youngest teams at this tournament.
And not only were these teams exciting- but they were also some of the best success stories of the tournament.
- Four out of six of these teams qualified for the knock-out stages (Ghana, Germany, Spain and Chile)
- Half of them were in the quarters (Ghana, Germany, Spain)
- A quarter of them were in the semis (Germany and Spain)
- One of them won the whole thing (Spain..I hope this was obvious)!
These facts- coupled with discovering a country’s next “[insert each country's international legacy here]” make the under-19 European Championship an even more exciting prospect. If you aren’t convinced then I suggest revisiting Chris’s post to check out the top six oldest teams who played (and largely failed) at the World Cup…
For those already convinced, here is a primer on what you can expect from the tournament which kicks off tomorrow (Sunday, July 18th) in Northern France…
When and Where is this? The competition kicks off tomorrow (Sunday, July 18th) and is being held in Northern France.
Competition Format: The competition has three stages- a qualification round, an “elite” round and then a final round. The qualification stage which kicked off in September was made of groups of four where teams played “round robin” style both home and away and the top two teams in each group advanced to the “elite level.” A number of 3rd placed teams also advance (depending on number of teams competing) based on their records versus the top two teams that automatically advanced.
The elite level took place last Spring where seven teams won the opportunity to join France in the finals tournament.
The final tournament consists of two groups of four teams where the top two teams in the group advanced to the semi finals and then the winners of those matches play in the finals.
Which teams are in the finals? Honestly? Most of the countries you’d expect with only a few surprises- Austria, Croatia, England, France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. It seems Germany used up all its youth at the World Cup finals…
And what are the Groups and Match Schedules? Good question – Screen captures courtesy of UEFA.com…
So, no chance of an ESP-NED rematch unless both teams make it out of their groups? Is this likely and who are the favorites?
Well, historically, Spain have qualified the most times since the U-19 championship replaced the U-18 tournament in 2001. Including this years tournament, they’ve qualified seven times beating England who have qualified six times and German and France who have made it to this point five times.
Of the seven times Spain have qualified they’ve won it four times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007). France, who historically dominated the U-18 competition, have only won this tournament once (2005) along with Italy (2003), Germany (2008) and Ukraine (2009).
But, take all those historical indications of success with a grain of salt as Spain have failed to make it out of the group stage since their win 2007. And even their coach has recently admitted that the youth teams in Spain are under more pressure than ever to succeed since the success of their senior team both in 2008 and this summer.
France are also considered favorites no only because they are hosts but also because most of the team was present at the U-17 finals two years ago where they lost to Spain. France have a tough first game against the Netherlands who beat France last October 4-2- but the coach is optimistic that the thrill of having their families watch them will help France overcome the Dutch who are suffering from player suspensions.
The current titleholders, Ukraine, did not qualify.
And you really think future stars of the game will be there? Yes- at least the future stars of European teams. When France won the U-18 edition (which later became the U-19 tournament), their team included William Gallas, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet- Henry and Trezeguet won the World Cup with the France senior team two years later. Other players who dominated this tournament that may seem familiar to you include Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti, Andrea Pirlo, Robbie Keane, Fernando Torres, David Silva and Sergio Ramos…and they are just the top top of a long list.
U19 Tournament hosts France celebrate after demolishing the Netherlands 4-1
You might remember just before the World Cup, 
The old adage, England invented the game and the Brazilians mastered it. You wouldn’t believe that if you watched the World Cup in South Africa, as both sides crashed out relatively early. Both are pondering the question of whether the nationality of a national coach is important, and if it is important, how much so?
Posts
