Strong lineup for Under-17 finals

Sunday, 1 April 2007
by Paul Saffer
France and Spain completed the lineup for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournament yesterday to join hosts Belgium, England, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands and Ukraine in the competition from 2 to 13 May.
Last qualifiersLes Mini-Bleus, who will be the only former U17 champions in the Belgium having taken the title in 2004, sealed their place in Wednesday's final tournament draw at 12.45 CET in Brussels's Best Western Hotel as they drew 0-0 against Hungary to win Elite round Group 5 in La Rochelle. Spain, third last year in Luxembourg, also tasted success on home soil, 1-0 against Poland to wrap up Group 7.
Germany returnSpain beat Germany in the third-place match a year ago, and both beaten semi-finalists are back again. Germany won all their Elite round Group 1 matches by three-goal margins against Greece, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland to achieve the best record in the second qualifying stage since it was introduced in 2002/03. The Netherlands ensured that three nations with Belgian borders would be in the tournament after winning Group 4 in 2008 finals venue Antalya, Turkey without conceding a point or a goal.
England pip SerbiaLast year England missed out on the U17 finals for the first time since the switch from U16 status in 2001/02; they are back this time around thanks to defeats of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan and Serbia in Group 3, pipping the latter to Belgium with a late Daniel Welbeck winner on Wednesday. Ukraine made it the next day, beating Group 2 hosts Italy to add to victories against Slovakia and 2006 runners-up the Czech Republic.
Iceland impressIndeed, both of last season's finalists will not be back this time after holders Russia were eliminated in an extraordinary game against Iceland. Russia had the advantage in Group 6 with one game to go, but fell 5-0 down to Iceland at half-time and the island nation soon added a sixth. The reigning champions then fought back to 6-5 but could not equalise and Iceland finished above home side Portugal on goals scored to reach their first UEFA finals since the 1998 U16 Championship.
Tournament scheduleIn the finals themselves, the group games will be played on 2, 4 and 7 May; one pool will be in the west of Belgium in Ronse, Tournai and Tubize and the other to the east in Eupen, Vise and Verviers. The top two from each group go into the semi-finals on 10 May in Tournai and Tubize, and that quartet will also qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year in Korea Republic along with the winners of a play-off between the third-place teams in each pool the same day. The final will be held in Tournai on Sunday 13 May and is among a number of games which will be televised live on Eurosport.
QualifiersHosts: BelgiumGroup 1: GermanyGroup 2: UkraineGroup 3: EnglandGroup 4: NetherlandsGroup 5: FranceGroup 6: IcelandGroup 7: Spain
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