England U17s boss jets out to Bulgaria for Euro draw

Wednesday 01 Apr 2015
John Peacock is in Bulgaria for the Euro U17s draw
Head coach John Peacock travels to Bulgaria on Wednesday for the European Under-17s Championship draw.

Holders England lead the lineup for the tournament as they prepare to discover who their group opponents will be on Thursday.

Peacock’s Young Lions are joined in the newly-expanded 16-team finals by former winners France, Russia, Holland and Germany for the competition in May.

England recorded a 100 per cent record from their qualifying campaign after Ike Ugbo struck twice to seal a 2-1 win over Romania last week, after which the two-time Euro-winning boss said: "It’s very nice to be back in the finals again, but more importantly though, it’s good for the players.

"The staff have been lucky enough to experience a few over the years, but we get a new group every year and this is a great challenge for them.

"I think they will enjoy it enormously – but they’ll like it even better if they keep winning."

The other nations to have qualified are: France, Spain, Croatia, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Austria, Russia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Scotland, Germany, Italy and the hosts Bulgaria.

The draw will be made in Pomorie and streamed live on UEFA.com at midday on Thursday 2 April.

The teams will be split into four groups of four for the final tournament which runs from 6 to 22 May. 

The tournament will also act as a qualifier for the FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile. Six places will be on offer for the showpiece which will be held from 17 October to 8 November.

By Gary Stonehouse Staff Writer