2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It is the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship.
For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Netherlands, who are also the defending champions, were exempt from qualifying. The host nation was chosen on 15 December 2005. England, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Sweden also submitted bids. Of UEFA's 52 member countries, only the Faroe Islands did not compete in the qualification round for the tournament. That left 50 nations attempting to qualify for the seven remaining spots at the finals.
This was the first time that the competition's final matches took place in an odd-numbered year. UEFA took this decision with the will to give more visibility to the tournament, since during even-numbered years the competition was clouded by the approaching FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.
The tournament also served as the European qualifying tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics, with a place for the four semi-finalists of the tournament. However, as England is not an Olympic nation, their team was ineligible for the Olympics. Therefore, with the event of England reaching the semi-finals, a fifth-place playoff was necessary.
In this competition, a new UEFA penalty shootout record was established. The semi final between The Netherlands U21 and England U21 finished in 1-1. No less than 32 penalties had to be taken before the tie was decided. The Netherlands U21 won 13-12, and went on to win the tournament by defeating Serbia U21 4-1 in the final.
After the final, some commotion arose in the Netherlands because several Dutch internationals with Surinamese roots carried the flag of Suriname with them during the ceremony of the European Champion in the Euroborg. Dutch coach Foppe de Haan expressed the actions of these players as "inappropriate".
Read more about 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Qualification, Finals Group Stage, Olympic Qualifying Play-Off, Knockout Stage, Goal Scorers, Countries To Participate At The 2008 Summer Olympics
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