The group winners and runners-up each advance to the semi-finals, which take place on May 12. The final is on May 15 in Sarajevo.
Kromp: “First final round for all players – because of Corona”
Kromp had been an assistant coach for the U17s since 2013 and was thus involved in the victories of the European Championships in 2014, 2016 and 2017. She has been in the role of head coach since 2019 but has not been able to attend a tournament with a team due to the pandemic.
“Due to the corona pandemic, it will be the first European Championship finals for all of my 20 players in their young careers. They and we in the team have been working towards this for a long time.”she says.
German team in the qualification without losing any points
The German players are considered to be one of the favorites to win the title. In qualifying, the team first defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina (4-0), then Portugal (3-1) and Finland (5-0), becoming the best team in the first round. In the second round there were successes against Kosovo (4:0), Slovenia (2:1) and Austria (3:2).
“Now we will do everything we can to be there again, to perform and to stay with us until the end in Sarajevo”, said Kromp.
Many tournaments were canceled – now there are four
For the youth teams in women’s football, the tournament also marks the start of a normalization in the calendar. International tournaments for juniors have recently all been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, the calendar is now filled with four tournaments:
- The U17 European Championship, which actually takes place every year, has been canceled in 2020 (planned in Sweden) and 2021 (Faroe Islands). Now the current tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina is coming up. In 2023 the tournament will take place in Estonia, in 2024 and 2025 Sweden and Faroe Islands will then come into play.
- The U17 World Cupwhich otherwise takes place every two years, was supposed to be held in India in 2020 but was canceled and is scheduled to be held again for the first time in India from 11th to 30th October 2022.
- The U19 European Championship was canceled in 2020 (Georgia) and 2021 (Belarus). In 2022, the tournament is now scheduled to take place in the Czech Republic from June 27th to July 9th. The tournaments 2023 (Belgium), 2024 (Lithuania) and 2025 (Belarus) have already been booked. There was criticism of UEFA for awarding the 2025 tournament to Belarus, as it took place in May 2021 despite the violent crackdown on protests against dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus is now also supporting Russia in its attack on Ukraine.
- The U20 World Cupwhich is held every two years, last took place in France in 2018, the 2020 edition in Costa Rica was canceled and will now also take place there from August 10th to 28th, 2022.
In addition, there is the highlight of the season in women’s football: The European Championship, which was canceled in 2021, is to be made up for in England in the summer of 2022.
Nadine Kessler: “I loved it”
Nadine Kessler, former Champions League winner and European champion, now works as UEFA’s women’s football boss. “I loved it”she says in a statement from UEFA about the youth tournaments. “International competitions are crucial at this stage of life. It’s a time to mature.”