Hosts England face debutants

Thursday, October 24, 2013 by Simon Hart & Paul Saffer

Hosts England will take on finals debutants Italy, Austria and Portugal, while Scotland face Germany, France and Spain after the draw was made for the first eight-team event.

Faye White and Sue Smith help conduct the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship finals draw ©FA

Hosts England will take on finals debutants Italy, Austria and Portugal after the draw was made for the first eight-team UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship final tournament.

In the draw at Burton-upon-Trent town hall, made by former England captain Faye White and midfielder Sue Smith along with UEFA's head of women's and futsal competitions, Mikael Salzer, Italy were given the honour of opening the tournament against England in Telford on 26 November, while Austria's first-ever women's finals game is against Portugal later that day. The other Women's U17 newcomers Scotland meet three-time winners Germany, twice champions Spain and three-time runners-up France.

Group A: England (hosts), Italy, Austria, Portugal

Group B: Germany, Scotland, France, Spain

Smith said: "It was quite daunting as a 16-year-old playing against women. Age-group tournaments help the players develop. I'd have loved to have taken part in a tournament like this. It's really important for the girls' development and progression."

The opening games will kick off at 12.30 local time (13.30CET) on Tuesday 26 November with double-headers at Telford and Hinckley. Telford will host an opening ceremony before England get the tournament under way against Italy at the New Bucks Head Stadium. All four venues will hold fixtures on the next two matchdays, 29 November and 2 December, England playing Austria in Chesterfield and then Portugal in Burton-upon-Trent.

These two venues will also stage the 5 December semi-finals. The third-place match at Burton and the final at Chesterfield will take place three days later, marking the culmination of the 150th anniversary celebrations for The Football Association (FA).

Having previously concluded as a four-team knockout event held in UEFA's Swiss home town of Nyon, the competition has expanded for its seventh season to end with the same eight-nation finals in a predetermined host country as the women's U19s and other youth championships. The one-off move from the usual summer date is as the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, for which the top three in the European tournament will qualify, will be played from 15 March and 5 April.

Schedule, kick-offs CET, UK time is one hour behind Eurosport will show the Chesterfield semi-final and the final live
Date	Group	Match	Location	Kick-off
Tue 26 Nov	A	ENG v ITA	Telford	13.30
Tue 26 Nov	A	AUT v POR	Telford	20.00
Tue 26 Nov	B	GER v SCO	Hinckley	13.30
Tue 26 Nov	B	FRA v ESP	Hinckley	20.00
Fri 29 Nov	A	ITA v POR	Hinckley	13.30
Fri 29 Nov	A	ENG v AUT	Chesterfield	20.00
Fri 29 Nov	B	GER v FRA	Telford	13.30
Fri 29 Nov	B	SCO v ESP	Burton	20.00
Mon 2 Dec	A	POR v ENG	Burton	13.30
Mon 2 Dec	A	ITA v AUT	Telford	13.30
Mon 2 Dec	B	ESP v GER	Hinckley	13.30
Mon 2 Dec	B	SCO v FRA	Chesterfield	13.30
Thu 5 Dec	Semi-final	tbc	Chesterfield	18.00
Thu 5 Dec	Semi-final	tbc	Burton	20.00
Sun 8 Dec	Third-place	tbc	Burton	13.00
Sun 8 Dec	Final	tbc	Chesterfield	18.00

There will be Fanzones open before England's three games:
England v Italy - 10.30am UK time
England v Austria - 5pm UK time
Portugal v England - 10.30am UK time

Hosts England face debutants

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