AZ has reached the final of the UEFA Youth League. The youngsters did this by beating the Portuguese Sporting Lisbon after penalties (4-3). After ninety minutes it was 2-2. It is the first time that a Dutch team is in the final of the highest European youth tournament.
The young Alkmaarders had to go deep for a place in the final. After just nine minutes, the team of trainer Jan Sierksma fell behind in the Stade de Genève in Switzerland.
AZ did not give up and turned the deficit into a 2-1 lead before the break. Ernest Poku and Ro-Zangelo Daal scored the goals. Shortly after the break things went wrong again, from a penalty the Portuguese equalized. Finn Stam did not make it to the final whistle. He received a direct red card just in time for bringing down a player who had broken through.
Because there was still no winner after ninety minutes, it came down to penalties. AZ keeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro became the great hero. He saved two penalties, after which Jayden Addai blasted in the winning one.
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Possible opponents
The opponent in the final, which will be played in Geneva next Monday at 6 p.m., will be determined later today. At 6 p.m., the Croatian Hajduk Split and AC Milan from Italy will play against each other in the second semi-final.
The Youth League has existed since 2013. Its predecessor was The NextGen Series and in 2011 Ajax made it to the final. The Italian Internazionale was too strong in this.