Courtesy: UEFA.com


Chase begins for new UEFA crown

Sunday 7 December 2008

by Paul Saffer from St Petersburg

There will be a new addition to the UEFA roll of honour this week with the first UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament due to unfold between Monday and Sunday in St Petersburg.

Opening day
Eight teams will compete for the title, and kicking off the event at the Yubileyny Sports Palace at 13.00 local time (11.00CET) are reigning European senior champions Spain, who showed their worth in winning the prestigious annual friendly U21 event there a year ago. They take on Kazakhstan, the first team from their nation to compete at a UEFA final tournament, and that Group B opener will then be followed by the Group A encounter between Italy and Slovenia. After that, the other two Group B teams, Ukraine and the Netherlands, kick off their campaigns, before hosts Russia and Croatia complete a marathon day with their Group A meeting.

Sunday final
Group fixtures continue on Tuesday and Thursday, with the top two teams from each pool progressing to Friday's semi-finals. The tournament concludes with the final on Sunday at 16.00 local time (14.00CET). uefa.com will have live updates for all the matches form inside the Yubileyny Sports Palace along with previews, reports and reaction.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com