U17 Elite round complete

Qualifying round
Former winners Spain and France plus other seeds England sat out the qualifying round, and the hosts are exempt until the final tournament, but the other 48 contenders competed in 12 mini-tournaments for the remaining 25 places in the Elite round. The first two sides through were Finland and Slovakia, who came through in Group 7.

Holders through
As the games went on, holders Turkey won Group 9 ahead of Romania and ousted 2005 semi-finalists Croatia, the reigning champions' 100 per cent record matched by inaugural U17 winners Switzerland in front of Wales in Group 12. Hungary, joined by Cyprus from Group 10, Serbia and Montenegro, first in Group 1 with Northern Ireland as runners-up, and Germany, whose runners-up Portugal all also progressed to ensure all former U17 champions are in the hat.

Dutch progress
Things were tighter for 2005 runners-up the Netherlands, top of Group 11 but level on points with Denmark and one ahead of surprise qualifiers last time around, Belarus. Last season's hosts and bronze-medallists Italy were second in Group 2 behind the Republic of Ireland.

Ukrainian relief
Elsewhere, Belgium and Bulgaria came through from Group 3, Finland and Slovakia emerged from Group 7 and Moldova and Poland were unbeaten in Group 8. Ukraine also advanced, as they held the best record against the top two in their pool from any of the third-placed teams, their results from Group 2 marginally better than Croatia's in Group 9 and Belarus in Group 11.

Elite round draw
Unlike in previous years, there is now a separate draw for the Elite round, which will be made at the UEFA Youth Conference in Cyprus on 30 November. The seven four-team mini-tournaments will be held next spring, with the winners progressing to Luxembourg in May.

UEFA European Under-17 Championship

Hosts: Luxembourg qualify automatically for the finals
Seeds: Spain, England, France automatically for the Elite round

Qualifying round
Group winners
Group 1: Serbia and Montenegro
Group 2: Republic of Ireland
Group 3: Belgium
Group 4: Russia
Group 5: Germany
Group 6: Sweden
Group 7: Finland
Group 8: Moldova
Group 9: Turkey (holders)
Group 10: Hungary
Group 11: Netherlands
Group 12: Switzerland

Runners-up
Group 1: Northern Ireland
Group 2: Italy
Group 3: Bulgaria
Group 4: Israel
Group 5: Portugal
Group 6: Czech Republic
Group 7: Slovakia
Group 8: Poland
Group 9: Romania
Group 10: Cyprus
Group 11: Denmark
Group 12: Wales

Best third-placed side
Group 2: Ukraine