Spain ran out of time to equalize France’s three goals and force extra time to fight for their fifth European title in their tenth under-17 final. Vicky López made the team dream with two goals in a row just after conceding the 3-0 draw, but the French team took revenge on the 2011 final and defeated La Rojita with a brace from Liana Joseph and a penalty from Maeline Mendy to achieve his first title in the category.
The captain Vicky López, who was the only player who was present in the last edition, wanted to redeem herself from that final lost in the penalty shootout against Germany and led Spain with her brilliant inside game and her overflow from the first bars.
Kenio Gonzalo’s team took possession and sought to dominate France with calmly worked plays and giving prominence to the ball, while the French team relied on Joseph’s speed every time he managed to wrest the ball from the Spanish. Apart from a shot from Redondo in the first minutes, Spain was unable to threaten its rival in attack, who made the most of the few occasions in which they had the ball. France had the best chances with a quick move down the right from Effa, who saw her measured cross into the box parried by a confident Aïcha and Joseph’s shot caught by Estensoro.
But Spain began to turn dominance into danger after some readjustments in which Comendador changed bands and occupied the left, where she felt more liberated and threatened Peggy Provost’s team with a header.
The French rearguard had to be used carefully to prevent the shots from Comendador and Vicky and maintain the tie when La Rojita was at her best. After the break, Spain reactivated the game with a shot from Vicky that skimmed the wood and two deflected shots from Ainhoa Alguacil and Celia Segura. Without finesse in the last meters, the Spanish team began to suffer, running into a multitude of legs in the area and the aggressiveness of France.
In 10 minutes, Joseph knocked Spain down with a double taking advantage of two defensive errors and Maeline Mendy put the third from the penalty spot after a foul by Vicky, who immediately recovered with two consecutive goals to get closer to the tie. The captain’s double was not enough.
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