Scotland will fly out to Bulgaria this weekend hoping to emulate their historic semi-final finish at last year’s U17 UEFA European Championships.
Here’s you’re A-Z guide to the 2015 finals in Bulgaria:
Ambassador…the 2015 U17 Euro ambassador is former Celtic star Stiliyan Petrov
Beroe Stadium…Scotland will kick off their campaign at the 12,000 capacity stadium on May 7th
Calvin Miller…the Scotland striker took part in last year’s tournament and is likely to lead the line again in Bulgaria
Defending champions…England won last year’s tournament after beating the Netherlands in the final
Elite Round…Scotland finished 2nd in their Elite Round Group, which qualified them for the finals
France…Scotland’s first Group C opponents won the competition in 2004
Greece…will meet Scotland in Sozopol on Sunday 10 May
Hosts…Bulgaria are featuring for the first time ever
Industrious…Scotland conceded just once in their 6 qualifying games
January 1st 1998…players at the finals must have been born after this date
Kilmarnock…have two players in the Scotland squad. Ian Wilson and Lewis Morrison
Lazur Stadium…in Burgas will host the final on May 22nd
McCrorie twins…Ross and Robby could become first twins to play at a major tournament for Scotland
Nearly…Scotland reached the semi-final of last year’s tournament
Over 3 goals a game…there were plenty of goals scored at last year’s tournament. 46 in total or 3.07 per game.
Prokopsija…the players will be hearing a lot of this during the tournament. It’s the Bulgarian word for Good Luck!
Qualification for World Cup…the top 6 sides from this year’s finals will qualify for the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile
Russia…Scotland’s third Group C opponents have won the competition twice
Scot Gemmill…the Scotland Under-17 coach was capped 26 times for the national team
Third appearance…Scotland have appeared twice before in 2008 and 2014
Uncovering stars…the likes of Toni Kroos and Cesc Fabregas have starred in previous Under-17 finals
Various winners…9 countries have won the tournament since the first one in 2002
Wayne Rooney…has won the tournament’s Golden Player award
eXciting finals…the last three finals have ended in a penalty shoot-out
Youth…players of 16 and 17 years of age will be competing in Bulgaria
Zidane, Luca…Zinedine’s son is goalkeeper for the French Under-17 team