Sheffield Wednesday up-and-comer exits U19s Euros after tough clashes in Wales
Logan Stretch added more international experience to his CV over the last couple of weeks, but the Sheffield Wednesday stopper had a tough time in Wales.
The 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship is currently taking place in Wrexham, Bangor, Caernarfon and Denbigh as the continent’s top prospects descend on the United Kingdom for the chance to not only claim glory but also qualify for the U20 World Cup next year.
Sadly for Stretch and Co, there will be no qualification for the Red Dragons after they lost all three of their Group A games without scoring a goal. Chris Gunter’s men were handed a difficult opening stage alongside Spain, Germany and Denmark, and defeat in their third game meant that they wouldn’t be progressing to the knockouts.
For the young Owls stopper, there wasn’t too much that he could’ve done about it himself.
After sitting out the first game, which resulted in a 7-0 defeat, Stretch was brought into Gunter’s XI to face the Germans. A marginally better result saw the Welsh downed 4-0, but the first three goals were all from close-range, and he came so close to pulling off an incredible save to keep out the fourth.
Logan Stretch and Wales are out of the U19s Euros
The Wales boss must’ve liked what he saw even in defeat, because the young Owls academy graduate kept his place when the Danes came to town - but the result was unfortunately a similar one.
Stretch made a comfortable save earlier on, and looked tidy in possession as Wales tried to build from the back. He was also made to hold his breath when Alfred Gøthler went down as he rushed out to meet him, but the referee rightly booked the Dane for diving.
As the game went on, the visitors started to take control, scoring two beautiful goals either side of the break that more experienced goalkeepers than Stretch wouldn’t have been able to stop.. The third wasn’t as pretty, but it would still be harsh to lay any of the blame for it at the young Owls’ door.
The shot-stopper is now likely to be given a bit of time off before returning to training with Wednesday, but it may be that he heads over to St. George’s Park at some point next week given the lack of goalkeepers in the building as Pierce Charles draws closer to joining Manchester City.
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