Perišić's cadets were four minutes away from the European Championship

How close the cadet national team of Montenegro was to phenomenal success, how little it was missing to become the first ever selection of ours to reach the finals of the European Championship.

In the 3rd round of Group 2 of the elite round of European qualification, Goran Perišić's men led 2:0 against the host Wales at halftime, with goals from Vasilij Adžić, and at that moment, considering the result of the second match in the group (Scotland - Iceland 0:0 , that's how it stayed), any victory led to a big competition.

Montenegro, however, did not last - the Welsh reduced the score in the 53rd minute through Morgan, and in the 86th - just four minutes before the end, they made our cadets cry with a goal by Lawlor for 2:2.

Instead of going to the European Championship as one of the seven best second-placed selections, that honor went to the Scots - the Welsh remained first, and Montenegro finished last in the group with two points from three matches.

In every game in the elite round, they were incredibly close - they missed against Iceland (0:0), against Scotland they had both the lead and chances for a second goal (2:1 defeat), and against Wales - the strongest team in the group, not even 2: 0 was not enough.

Two phenomenal goals by the super-talented midfielder of Budućnost Vasilij Adžić did not help either, who in the stoppage time of the first half, in a space of only 60 seconds, checked the goalkeeper of Wales twice and brought the Montenegrin U17 national team one step away from heaven.

The Welsh, however, had more freshness in the continuation, it was visible from their footballers playing stronger competitions - mainly in England, in the U19 Premier League, so even their equalization was not undeserved.

Perišić's men, on the other hand, lacked only a little luck, and that in all three matches.

However, there remains hope that this generation, led by Adžić, Marko Perović, Andrej Camaj and others, will continue to develop in the right way and that Montenegrin football will soon receive worthy successors of Stevan Jovetić, Stefan Savić...