England complete U19 finals lineup

The lineup for the 2009/10 UEFA European Under-19 Championship is complete after England claimed the final qualifying place on Monday.

Noel Blake's side join Spain, Portugal, Croatia, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria, plus hosts France, in the final tournament, which will be played in Normandy in July. Four-time winners Spain were the first team to qualify, holding off the challenge of Turkey to win Group 4 in April; Portugal joined them by clinching first place in Group 2. Two teams who will make their U19 finals debuts in France, the Netherlands and Croatia, were next to conclude their elite round campaigns, coming out on top in Group 6 and 1 respectively, before 2008 runners-up Italy earned a finals return, finishing first in Group 5.

Group 7 hosts Austria secured the penultimate place on offer in dramatic fashion on Sunday, a thrilling 4-3 defeat of Denmark taking them through for the first time since they hosted the finals in 2007 by virtue of a superior head to head record against Serbia. England also had to hold their nerve on the final day of Group 3, Dean Parrett's late equaliser taking them through at the expense of the team who beat them in the final a year ago, Ukraine.

The eight countries will be separated into two groups of four at the finals draw at the Marie de Caen on 4 June. The teams play each other once, the top two in each section progressing to the semi-finals, while the top three in each of the two groups qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. The U19 semi-finals will be held on Tuesday 27 July with the final at the Stade Michel D'Ornano in Caen three days later.