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Under-17 elite round begins

The elite round begins on Tuesday with 12 days of intense action to decide the seven teams to join Slovenia in the finals from 4 to 16 May, holders the Netherlands among the hopefuls.

England beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the qualifying round but both can make the finals
England beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the qualifying round but both can make the finals ©Fedja Krvavac

The UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round begins on Tuesday with 12 days of intense action to decide the seven teams to join Slovenia in the finals from 4 to 16 May.

Germany lost to the Netherlands in the final in Serbia last year and hope to be the first side through this time as they welcome fellow former champions Portugal and Turkey, plus Bulgaria, for Group 4. You can win adidas Speedcall balls from signed by both last year's finalist teams on UEFA.com now. Also beginning on Tuesday is Group 6 in Scotland, including 2011 semi-finalists Denmark.

Two days later, the Netherlands stage Group 5 against Serbia, the Republic of Ireland and Albania  but the last mini-tournament to begin looks perhaps the toughest of all as, just like a year ago, England and Spain are matched, Ukraine and Group 3 hosts Georgia hoping to deny the two most frequent qualifiers in the tournament's history.

Only the group winners qualify for the finals, with the draw made on 4 April.

Elite round draw
Group 1 (24-29 March):
France*, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland

Group 2 (24-29 March): Czech Republic, Belarus, Poland, Luxembourg*

Group 3 (26-31 March): Spain, England, Georgia*, Ukraine

Group 4 (20-25 March): Germany*, Portugal, Turkey, Bulgaria

Group 5 (22-27 March): Serbia, Netherlands* (holders), Republic of Ireland, Albania

Group 6 (20-25 March): Denmark, Scotland*, Iceland, Lithuania

Group 7 (23-28 March): Hungary*, Russia, Belgium, Wales

*Hosts

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