MINSK, 23 January (BelTA) – Belarus advanced to the the U17 Development Cup final in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
In the last match in the Group A of the preliminary stage, Andrei Skorobogatko's side drew with Belgium 1-1. Both goals were scored in the first ten minutes: Yegor Shedko put Belarus on the scoreboard one minute into the match but the opponents tied up soon. At the start of the tournament, Belarus defeated Uzbekistan 4-1 and then Finland 2-1. In another match of this group, Finland prevailed over Uzbekistan 2-1. Overall standings: Belarus - 7 points, Belgium - 7, Finland - 3, Uzbekistan - 0.
Tajikistan beat Georgia 2-1 to top the Group B. Iceland defeated Israel 2-0. Overall standings: Tajikistan - 6, Israel - 4, Georgia - 4, Iceland – 3.
The final between Belarus and Tajikistan will be held in the Minsk Football Indoor Arena on 25 January (16.45). The bronze-medal match will be played between Belgium and Israel (14.30). Iceland and Uzbekistan will clash for the seventh place (10.00) and Georgia will take on Finland for the fifth place (12.15). The admission to all matches is free.
Belarus U17 team became the winner of the event three times (2006, 2007, 2019) and was the runner-up four times (2005, 2008, 2014, 2016). A year ago, Belarus defeated Israel in the decisive match 1-0. Slovakia saw off Georgia in the bronze-medal medal. Belarus used the competition as their final warm-up ahead of the 2019/20 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round. Belarus, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece have been drawn in Group 1 for the elite qualification round to be played in Turkey at the end of March. The 2020 UEFA European Under-17 Championship will be held in Estonia from 21 May to 6 June.
