BRATISLAVA (UEFA) - Czechia, Finland and Georgia have completed the line-up for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals in Slovakia following the play-offs.
While the nine qualifying group winners and the three best runners-up (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) had already gone through to the final tournament from 11 to 28 June along with hosts Slovakia, the other six runners-up were meeting over two legs for the remaining finals berths. The final tournament draw is in Bratislava on 3 December.
The 2002 champions Czechia secured their sixth play-off success from nine attempts although Belgium came close to overturning the 2-0 deficit from their home leg.
Belgium had the better of the first half and went ahead on the night on 51 minutes when Jarne Steuckers cut inside and curled in a beautiful shot from just outside the box. The visitors kept pushing but with 11 minutes left a Czechia corner from Kryštof Daněk deflected in off the head of Belgium defender Zeno Van den Bosch to allow the crowd of over 9,000 fans in Hradec Králové to begin their celebrations.
Georgia, in their first play-off having reached the 2023 quarter-finals on debut as co-hosts, are through despite three times seeing their aggregate advantage wiped out and having to survive an epic shoot-out. Croatia's Ante Crnac won the ball and set up Dion Beljo to strike on 11 minutes, but just before the half-hour Luka Gagnidze's unerring finish from distance restored Georgia's overall lead.
That disappeared again in the 63rd minute when Beljo converted a penalty following a handball. Once more Georgia responded and with a clever free-kick move 12 minutes from time Irakli Arazov set up Nodar Lominadze for a swerving finish. But in added time, Marin Šotiček – only brought on in the 85th minute – hit a shot on the turn to force the extra half-hour and ultimately penalties.
Franko Kolić, who made his competitive U21 debut in goal for Croatia as a substitute in the away leg, saved from Azarov with the first Georgia penalty. But with Croatia one kick away from qualifying on penalties for the second tournament running, Luka Kharatishvili made a brilliant one-handed stop to deny Veldin Hodža, and then produced the decisive save when Juraj Badelj stepped forward for the home side's eighth kick.
Finland clinched only their second U21 EURO qualification, the other being in 2009, despite defeat in Stavanger. Having scored three late goals to win their home leg 5-1, Finland extended their aggregate advantage ten minutes into the second half as Casper Terho connected with a pass from fellow opening-leg scorer Leo Walta after a short-corner move.
Norway's Seedy Jatta was sent off just before the hour but Joel Mvuka equalised on the night with nine minutes left. In the 88th minute Marius Broholm smashed the ball in from close range, but just as in 2004 and 2017, Norway lost a U21 EURO play-off despite a second-leg win.
