Portugal, Spain rematched in Under-17 elite round

Holders Portugal are rematched with the nation they beat on penalties in last season's final, Spain, in this spring's UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round.

The draw was made by Niklas Strunck Jakobsen, who received the 2015/16 Respect Fair Play trophy on behalf of Denmark. Apart from Spain and Portugal facing off in Group 3 (which the holders will host), the Netherlands are rematched with Italy, who the Dutch pipped to the quarter-finals last season, with France looking for similar revenge against Sweden. Fifteen teams will advance to the final tournament in Croatia in May.

Elite round draw
Group 1 (23–28 March): Germany, Turkey*, Finland, Armenia

Group 2 (21–26 March): Russia, Israel, Hungary*, Norway

Group 3 (10–15 March): Spain, Portugal* (holders), Greece, Poland

Group 4 (17–22 March): Scotland*, Switzerland, Serbia, Montenegro

Group 5 (14–19 March): Netherlands*, Italy, Belarus, Belgium

Group 6 (23–28 March): Sweden, France, Austria*, Ukraine

Group 7 (23–28 March): England, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Slovenia, Czech Republic

Group 8 (15–20 March): Republic of Ireland, Cyprus*, Slovakia, Faroe Islands

*Hosts

• The eight group winners and the seven runners-up with the best records against the teams first and third in their section will join hosts Croatia in the finals from 3 to 19 May.

• The final tournament will also act as the European qualifier for UEFA's five berths in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India, running from 6 to 28 October.

Draw facts
• The Faroe Islands and Armenia feature at this stage for the first time.

• Along with those two teams, Cyprus, Montenegro and Norway are all aiming for U17 finals debuts.