Contenders chase Italian campaign

By Paul Saffer

Seven places are at stake in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournament when the Elite round starts on Tuesday.

Finalists in action
Only the group winners will join hosts Italy in May's competition, but all 28 contenders have proved themselves worthy after coming through some tough qualifying round pools late last year. All eight of the 2003/04 finalists are in action - with Spain, Turkey, Northern Ireland, England, Portugal, Austria and Ukraine all hoping for another shot at the title won on home soil by France last season.

French test
Groups 3 and 6, played like all the pools with three games in five days in a mini-tournament hosted by one of the contenders, are the first to get under way. France are in Group 6, but face an immediate test when they open their campaign against hosts Turkey, who proved their strength at youth level at home in the recent UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup. Scotland and Azerbaijan, in their best performance already at this level, are also in the running.

Portuguese encounters
Meanwhile, Portugal - deposed as holders last season but eventual bronze medallists - travel to Croatia for Group 3 with Ukraine no doubt keen to avenge the 4-0 defeat that ended their group campaign a year ago. Hungary, who qualified last in 2002/03, make up a tough pool and Portugal will be well aware that 12 months ago they were so nearly eliminated at this stage after losing 2-1 to Wales, only for Ian Rush's team to lose their final match against Greece after leading for 15 minutes.

Spain meet Swiss
While these groups end on 19 March, the other pools do not begin until the final week of this month. Group 1 looks an interesting affair with hosts Spain, losing finalists in 2004 and traditionally the most successful nation when this was an Under-16 tournament, meeting 2002 champions Switzerland, Denmark and Poland, who reached this stage as the best third-placed team from the qualifying round groups.

All-Ireland group
In Group 2 England welcome fellow 2004 qualifiers Northern Ireland and their neighbours to the south, the Republic of Ireland, along with Serbia and Montenegro, one of three teams along with France and Portugal to win all their games in the qualifying round. Group 4 brings together Bulgaria, Russia, Finland and Belarus, four countries who have never made it to an eight-team U17 finals.

EURO reunion
Austria stage Group 5 and play Greece, Israel and Romania, while Group 7 will bring back memories of UEFA EURO 2004™ - hosts Germany, the Netherlands, Latvia and the Czech Republic were all also drawn in the same pool in Portugal. The Czechs won that group, but Germany only missed out at this round last year on head-to-head record behind Ukraine and this year's crop will be keen to make amends.

2004/05 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Elite round mini-tournament groups and dates: