Young Portugal and Young France drew 0-0 on the first day of the European Championship on Wednesday. Host country Slovakia came close to a surprise against Spain, but lost 2-3.
On paper, the spectacle on the opening day was supposed to come from Portugal and France, but both teams failed to score. For Portugal, former Ajax player Carlos Forbs made a substitute appearance, but he was also unable to make his mark on the match. Georgia won 1-2 against Poland in the same group.
Earlier in the evening, Spain escaped losing points in the opening match against Slovakia. The Spaniards started well and were 0-2 ahead within twenty minutes. It looked like an easy evening for coach Santiago Denia’s team, but the match turned around after the break.
Slovakia equalized within ten minutes after the break. After Samuel Kopásek’s connecting goal, Hugo Bueno initiated the equalizer. The Feyenoord loanee caused a penalty, which former FC Groningen player Tomás Suslov converted. César Tárrega still gave Spain three points in the ninetieth minute. The other match in Group A ended in a 1-0 victory for Italy against Romania.
Young Oranje will start the European Championship on Thursday at 9:00 PM with a match against Finland. Coach Michael Reiziger’s team will continue in the group stage against Denmark (June 15) and Ukraine (June 18). The Dutch national team lost in the semi-finals of the previous edition to Germany, who won the final against Portugal.