Qualifiers consider next step

The draw for the Elite round of the 2004/05 UEFA European Under-17 Championship has thrown up a number of intriguing encounters, with exciting sections in prospect and all eight qualifiers from the 2004 finals again featuring prominently.

Perfect start
Holders France progressed in style from the qualifying round, winning all three matches to finish top of Group 2 with a maximum of nine points. Guy Ferrier's side have been placed in Group 6 in the next stage and face Turkey, who were defeated 2-0 by the French in this summer's finals and qualified as Group 9 winners this time around. Scotland and Azerbaijan complete the section.

Automatic qualifiers
The 2004 runners-up, Spain, qualified automatically for the Elite round, as did England – defeated by the Spanish in the semi-finals last May – and Hungary. Spain are in Group 1, together with Group 10 winners Switzerland, Denmark and Poland, who squeezed through as the best third-ranked side.

Local rivalry
England, meanwhile, face two familiar opponents in Group 2, which includes Northern Ireland – who lost all three games in France last summer but finished level on points with the Swiss in the qualifying round of this year's event – and the Republic of Ireland, who remained unbeaten in claiming second position in Group 3. The first-placed team from Group 7, Serbia and Montenegro, complete a tough-looking section.

Strong section
Two qualifiers from the 2004 finals are likely to form the Hungarians' main opposition in Group 3, with Group 4 winners Ukraine and 2003 winners Portugal, who claimed first place in Group 11, both having qualified impressively for a section that also includes Croatia.

Six points each
Group 4 looks to be one of the more open sections, with Bulgaria and Finland, who both picked up six points in winning their respective first-round sections, joined by Belarus and Russia. Meanwhile, Group 12 winners Austria face Israel, first in Group 5, Romania and Greece in Group 5 of the Elite round.

Unbeaten records
Finally, Group 7 has a familiar look to it, with Latvia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany contesting a section that is a replica of UEFA EURO 2004™ Group D. The Latvians will be considered outsiders, as the other three sides in the group all remained unbeaten in qualifying.

Dates to be determined
The dates of the groups and the hosts of the mini-tournaments will be confirmed at a later date.

N.B. Automatic qualifiers for the Elite round in bold. The winners of each second-round group will join hosts Italy at next summer's final tournament.

*Best third-ranked team