Group 1: Italy and Bulgaria safely through

Italy and Bulgaria booked their places in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship second qualifying round after running away with the Group 9 mini-tournament.

Fine form
Both sides were in fine form throughout the tournament in Andorra. Bulgaria began with a 4-0 victory against Latvia with Bozhinov scoring twice in the Estadio Communal. Italy then beat hosts Andorra 5-0 with substitute Stucchi getting on the scoresheet twice.

Bozhinov double
Stucchi scored again in his side's following game, a 2-0 victory against the Latvians which booked their place in the next round with a game to spare. Bulgaria joined them in the second qualifying round after disposing of Andorra 9-0. Seven different players got on the scoresheet, including Bozhinov who scored twice to take his tally for the tournament to four.

Memorable encounter
The final games of the tournament saw Italy and Bulgaria vying for supremacy at the top of the group while Andorra and Latvia sought to avoid the wooden spoon. Latvia ultimately overcame the brave Andorrans 3-2 in a memorable encounter to clinch third spot. Moreno Marin gave the hosts a surprise lead after 10 minutes. Blanks levelled the scores for Latvia in the 21st minute and then put them ahead in the 22nd. Clemente Garces hauled Andorra back on to level terms on 37 minutes only for Sazanovs to score a hard-earned winner on 47 minutes.

Italy comeback
Meanwhile the Italians edged out the Bulgarians 2-1. Bulgaria took the lead with a ninth-minute goal from Chepilov. However the Italians came back strongly to clinch a narrow victory with goals from Motta (18 minutes) and Gallacio (41 minutes).

Second-round groups
In the second qualifying round Italy will be in Group 7, alongside Germany, Azerbaijan and whichever side finishes second in first qualifying round Group 4. Bulgaria will face Spain, Wales and France in Group 1. In each case only the side that tops the group will qualify for next summer's finals.