Italy lead the way

Italy and Israel made it through the Group 4 mini-tournament in Luxembourg to take their places in the second qualifying round of the 2003/04 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Shaky start for Italy
The Italians began their campaign shakily with a 2-2 draw against F.Y.R. Macedonia in which they led twice only to be forced to settle for a draw. Lorenzo De Silvestri opened the scoring after just four minutes before Ivan Trickovski levelled in the 25th minute.

Manevski rescues point
Andrea Russotto restored Italy's advantage nine minutes after the interval, but Macedonian substitute Stefan Manevski rescued a point for his side with a late strike.

Comfortable victory
Israel opened their campaign with a 3-0 victory against hosts Luxembourg. The home side began disastrously, when defender Jacques Plein put the ball into his own net inside the opening minute. Two further goals from striker Eliran Masud Afriat wrapped up the three points.

Crushing wins
Italy and Israel both secured crushing wins in the second round of matches, booking their places in the next round in the process. Italy overcame Luxembourg 5-0 through goals from Alessio Cerci, Michele Rinaldi, Stefano Mandorino and Giuseppe Rossi (2).

Hefetz treble
Israel were even more impressive, steamrollering the Macedonians 7-0. Gil Hefetz hit a hat-trick while Oren Ido, Nir Vana, Tom Mancherov also scored. Stojce Hristov's own goal compounded Macedonia's misery.

Lupoli and Rossi score
After assuring their second-round places, there was just top spot to play for on the final day and Italy clinched it by beating Israel 2-0 with a goal apiece from Arturo Lupoli and Rossi. Meanwhile Daniel Zanon's last-minute goal gave Luxembourg a 2-1 win against Macedonia which moved them into third place in the final standings. However Luxembourg's overall performance in the group will not be enough to see them clinch the second-round berth reserved for the best third-placed side in round one - a position Croatia currently hold.