Netherlands U17’s are out of the European Championships after a heartbreaking last-minute defeat to Germany in the quarter-finals.
- By Michael Bell
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Kees van Wonderen’s side were underdogs going into the tie having only just scraped through the group stages, but they put in their best performance so far and caused constant trouble to the German backline in the first half.
Chelsea’s Juan Familio-Castillo was a livewire on the wing and in the last minute of the first half he set up Zakaria Aboukhlal to give Netherlands a surprise lead.
Familio-Castillo could have added a second early in the second half but he saw his shot saved by the legs of the German goalkeeper. On 66 minutes, Elias Abouchabaka scored the equaliser for Germany with a strike that went through the legs of Jasper Schendelaar in the Oranje goal.
The game seemed set for penalties but in the last minute, Netherlands failed to clear a cross and the ball was guided past Schendelaar by Jann-Fiete Arp.
Netherlands exit the competition and fail to book their place in the U17 World Cup which takes place next year.
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