Holders France to face 2012 winners Sweden
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
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The last two winners, Sweden and France, were paired together in the draw for the elite round, while England will meet two teams they beat en route to the 2013 final.
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Sweden and holders France, the last two winners of the UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship, will meet in the elite round following the draw in Nyon today.
The sides were among 21 teams that emerged from a field of 44 in September's qualifying round, through which top-seeded trio Germany, England and Spain were given byes.
The draw, conducted by UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti, was made by Sherry McCue, captain of last season's runners-up England. McCue's team were placed into a section containing Denmark and Finland – countries they defeated at the 2013 finals in Wales in August – and Serbia.
For Belarus, it will be only the second time they have graced the second stage of qualifying but, having hosted the 2009 event, they were among 20 sides in the draw that have experienced a final tournament. Croatia, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland and Ukraine are the quartet that have not.
The hosts of the mini-tournaments to be staged between 5 and 10 April 2014 will be announced soon. Seven teams will qualify to join home nation Norway in the finals between 15 and 27 July 2014 – the six group winners and the runner-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their pool.
Elite round draw
Group 1: Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Belarus
Group 2: Scotland, Russia, Iceland, Croatia
Group 3: Sweden, France, Poland, Romania
Group 4: Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ukraine
Group 5: Austria, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Turkey
Group 6: England, Finland, Denmark, Serbia
