Contenders confirm U21 play-off venues

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The dates and venues for next month's UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs have nearly all been determined, with Cardiff and Birmingham hosting the all-British affair between Wales and England.

England forward Gabriel Agbonlahor celebrates scoring for his club at Villa Park ©Getty Images

Home soil
Cardiff City FC duo Darcy Blake and Jonathan Brown can look forward to representing Wales on home soil at Ninian Park on 10 October, while the presence of Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner and Craig Gardner in the England ranks perhaps played a part in the selection of Villa Park as the Football Association's venue for the second leg four days later.

December draw
The play-offs will decide which seven sides join hosts Sweden in the 3 December draw at the Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg for next summer's final tournament. Gothenburg is one of four finals venues along with stadiums in Malmo, Helsingborg and Halmstad. The action gets under way on 15 June 2009, with the final to be played at the Malmö New Stadium on 29 June.

First leg	Date, local kick-off time, venue
Turkey v Belarus	10/10, 19.30, Mardan Sport Complex (Antalya)
Austria v Finland	10/10, 18.00, Waldstadion (Pasching)
Wales v England	10/10, 19.45, Ninian Park (Cardiff)
Germany v France	10/10, 19.00, Ernst-Grube (Magdeburg)
Italy v Israel	11/10, 16.00, Del Conero (Ancona)
Denmark v Serbia	11/10, 16.30, Aalborg (Aalborg)
Switzerland v Spain	11/10, 20.00, Brügglifeld (Aarau)

Second leg	Date, local kick-off time, venue
Belarus v Turkey	14/10, 19.00, Neman (Grodno)
Finland v Austria	14/10, 18.30, Veritas (Turku)
England v Wales	14/10, 19.45, Villa Park (Birmingham)
Spain v Switzerland	14/10, 21.30, TBC
France v Germany	15/10, 19.00, Saint-Symphorien (Metz)
Serbia v Denmark	15/10, 18.00, FK Partizan (Belgrade)
Israel v Italy	15/10, 20.00, Bloomfield (Tel-Aviv)

Contenders confirm U21 play-off venues

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