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Men's U17 Team

Elite come together

England U17s will face opposition from Portugal, Serbia and Hungary in the Elite Round of qualifying for the European U17 Championship, following the draw on Thursday morning.

Young Lions Head Coach John Peacock was present at the draw, which took place in UEFA's Swiss Headquarters in Nyon and planning for the Group 7 games will now begin.
The draw saw seven groups of four teams put together, with only the nations who finish top of their group progressing to the Finals stage which is to be held in Germany in May.

Peacock's team sealed their place in the draw after coming through their First Qualifying Round in Tenerife in October, where they drew 1-1 with hosts Spain, beat Estonia by 7-0 and drew 0-0 with Armenia.

England have already played Portugal at U17 level this season, when they met at Rushden & Diamonds' Nene Park in August in The FA International U17 Tournament.

Portugal ran out as 2-1 winners that night, but the Young Lions put in a fine performance and were unfortunate to come away as losers on that occasion.

In the other groups, holders Spain will be looking to progress and earn a shot at winning their third consecutive title in this competition. They have been drawn out with Czech Republic, Belgium and Kazakhstan in Group 2.

2008-09 UEFA European U17 Championship Elite Round

Group 1 - Poland, Greece, Slovenia, Switzerland

Group 2 - Spain, Czech Republic, Belgium, Kazakhstan

Group 3 - Croatia, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan

Group 4 - Denmark, France, Norway, Belarus

Group 5 - Austria, Scotland, Italy, Georgia

Group 6 - Finland, Turkey, Romania, Wales

Group 7 - Portugal, Serbia, England, Hungary

Bye to Finals - Germany