Serbia complete U19 finals lineup

Serbia filled the eighth and final berth in the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship – which takes place in Lithuania from 20 July to 1 August – after winning elite round Group 2 by virtue of their superior goal difference in a three-way head-to-head with Switzerland and Slovakia.

Switzerland started their last match of the mini tournament on top of the section, but a 2-0 loss to Slovakia in which they had Musa Araz dismissed on 53 minutes, coupled with hosts Serbia drawing 0-0 against the Republic of Ireland at the FK Srem in Jakovo, proved costly for Claude Ryf's men.

In contrast, there was nothing but jubilation for Serbia and their coach Ljubinko Drulović. "We have achieved great success," he said. " We deserved to go through. I hope we will compete in Lithuania and play better there. It is a great honour to be able to play in the company of the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain."

Serbia opened impressively with a 4-0 win against Slovakia – Uroš Djurdjević scoring twice in a victory which ultimately proved decisive in the final group reckoning – but came unstuck in their second fixture, Switzerland's Armin Alesevic registering the only goal at the FK Obilić in Belgrade.

The Swiss had fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against the Republic of Ireland in their first outing. That was also the result in Ireland's second game, against Slovakia – although this time Paul Doolin's side needed an added-time goal from Steven Smith to salvage a point after Slovak captain Albert Rusnák had made it 2-1 in the 90th minute.