Scotland have qualified for their third consecutive UEFA European Under-17 Championships.
A draw yesterday against Switzerland and a win against Elite Round hosts Czech Republic guaranteed the team their place in next month’s finals in Azerbaijan.
Scot Gemmill, who has been Scotland Under-17s coach for all three successful qualification campaigns, was clearly delighted when speaking to the Scottish FA website.
Gemmill said: “It’s a fantastic feeling. We came into the match knowing a win would guarantee qualification so that was our objective. We couldn’t rely on the other match going our way.
“We weren’t sure if the draw was enough and we were pushing for the win at the end. We had a three versus one situation in the last minute and the referee blew for full-time. The boys were unhappy and complaining to the referee when someone shouted ‘Czech Republic have scored!’
“It was still unclear if that was enough but when we received official confirmation everything went a bit crazy!
Focus now turns to preparing for the finals in Azerbaijan, with the draw for the groups being made this Friday. It promises to be a terrific experience for the Scotland squad, and one Gemmill believes the young players deserve.
“We’ve reached three of the last three finals at this level and the players will benefit tremendously from what they experience in Azerbaijan,” he said.
“They deserve every credit for what they have achieved.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
