What a day for U-19 action! 7/23/2011.

So then, the Group stages are nearing a close now. Today, we had several matches including the Czech Republic v.s. the Republic of Ireland; hosts Romania v.s. Greece; Turkey play Belgium; while last but not least, Serbia faced Spain. So, let's get started! The Czechs were able to edge the Irish in their game today, 2-1. Despite going down early to a John O'Sullivan goal for Ireland, the Czechs fought back in the 2nd half scoring first through captain Jakub Brabec in the 69th minute and then again in the 71st minute through substitute Patrik Lacha. With that result, the Czechs took top spot in the group while the Republic of Ireland must deal with being tied for 2nd. And so we move onto the big match for the country hosting the tournament: Romania. They faced Greece today in a match that they really needed to win to keep their chances of progressing alive. They were unsuccessful. It was a close, hard-fought match but the Greeks ended it with the 3 points under their belt. Funny though, how it all turned in the 37th minute when the young Kostas Fortounis struck. You wouldn't figure it to be a death blow, and it might not be if results go the Romanian's way, but in all likelihood, Romania are out of the tournament they are hosting. The Greeks are positioned in 3rd (tied 2nd) with 3 points while Romania have 0. Now then, to Group B where are just as energetic if not more so: Spain replayed their cancelled match against Belgium on the 21st and won convincingly 4-1 which gives them a good start to things. They continued their progress with a 0-4 victory over Serbia today. 3 of the 4 goals came in the 1st half when Alvaro Morata struck 2 of his 3 hat-trick goals: on either side of Juanmi's 15th minute goal. So, Spain have booked their place in the Semi-final leaving Serbia in 2nd with 3 points (which they collected from their 2-0 victory over Turkey on the 20th.) What about the other 2 teams? Well, the tournament isn't looking so nice for either Turkey or Belgium to be honest. They each lost their first matches while a 1-1 draw today saved some pride, but did no one any favors. The Group stage wraps up on the 26th so be sure to tune in for some good games!