At 19:00 on Wednesday, 17th May, Filipe Ramos’ Portugal side will kick off their UEFA Euro U17 campaign against Germany in Debrecen, Hungary.
This young Seleção side breezed through both rounds of qualification and come into the competition with confidence. In the first round of qualifying, Portugal won all three of their matches – beating Faroe Islands, Slovenia and Kazakhstan. Ramos’ side then progressed to the Elite Round, where their fine form continued and saw them beat Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, all without conceding a single goal.
Before the squad left for Hungary, they received a visit from Seleção manager Roberto Martinez.
Previous History
Portugal are bidding to win the UEFA U17 European Championships for the third time since it was restructured as an under-17 competition. This year is a special one as it also marks 20 years since Portugal’s first U17 Euro title. In 2003, the Portugal side featuring the likes of João Moutinho, Miguel Veloso and Vierinha beat Spain 2-1 in the final in Viseu to lift the trophy for the first time.
14 years later, Portugal U17 were once again in a final and once again up against their Iberian neighbours Spain. The match ended 1-1 in normal time thanks to goals from Diogo Dalot and Brahim Diaz but Portugal managed to win 5-4 on penalties with Zé Gomes, Diogo Leite, Jota, Diogo Dalot and Gedson Fernandes all converting their spot-kicks.
The Portugal Squad
Gonçalo Ribeiro, André Moreira; Gonçalo Oliveira, João Fonseca, Guilherme Gaspar, Tiago Parente, Rayhan Momade, Martim Fernandes; Martim Ferreira, Diogo Sousa, João Simões, João Teixeira, Rodrigo Duarte, Gil Martins; Geovany Quenda, Gonçalo Moreira, Gonçalo Sousa, João Infante, Nuno Patrício, Olívio Tomé.
Format, Opponents and Times
All kick-off times are in London/Lisbon time zone.
There are 16 teams that have qualified for UEFA Euro U17 and they have been split into four groups of four.
Portugal have been drawn into a very strong Group C along with the holders France, Germany and Scotland.
Wednesday, May 17th – Portugal v Germany 19:00
Saturday, May 20th – Portugal v Scotland 14:00
Tuesday, May 23rd – France v Portugal 14:00
Should Portugal progress to the knockout stages, the quarter-finals will be played on Saturday, 27th May, the semi-finals will be on Tuesday, 30th May and the final will be played on Friday, 2nd June.
