Northern Ireland complete elite round draw lineup
Monday, August 12, 2013
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Northern Ireland have been confirmed as best third-placed side in the qualifying round, meaning they join 23 other teams in the elite round in September and October.
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Northern Ireland have completed the lineup for Thursday's UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship elite round draw, streamed live on UEFA.com from 14.00CET. Media representatives wish to attend the draw should contact media@uefa.ch.
The qualifying round finished on Sunday with the top two in each of the ten groups played over the last six weeks progressing, including holders Poland and 2013 runners-up Sweden. That left one slot for the third-placed team with the best record against the top two in their section. Northern Ireland were the only one of the ten third-placed finishers to record a victory against any of the 20 qualifiers, beating Group 1 winners the Czech Republic but losing 5-1 to Scotland, with all three sides ending on six points.
The 21 qualifiers join the three top seeds Germany, France and Spain in the elite round draw, for which the seedings will be confirmed prior to the ceremony. The elite round will be held between 30 September and 20 October. The six group winners plus the runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their section will follow England into the finals, taking place from 26 November until 8 December.
This season's early date owes to the fact the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica will be staged between 15 March and 5 April. The winter European finals act as the UEFA qualifier, with the top three sides in England earning World Cup berths.
Qualified teams
Group 1: Czech Republic, Scotland, Northern Ireland*
Group 2: Norway, Romania
Group 3: Finland, Netherlands
Group 4: Russia, Republic of Ireland
Group 5: Hungary, Iceland
Group 6: Sweden, Portugal
Group 7: Belgium, Belarus
Group 8: Austria, Poland (holders)
Group 9: Italy, Switzerland
Group 10: Denmark, Greece
*Best third place
Bye to second qualifying round: Germany, Spain, France
Bye to final tournament: England (hosts)