Draw brings finalists together

There will be a repeat of the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Championship final between England and Spain following the qualifying round draw for the 2008/09 competition.

Belgian triumph
Spain won 1-0 in Belgium in May but England will have a chance for revenge in autumn 2008 after the draw – which was held in Cannes as part of the 9th UEFA Elite Youth Football Conference – put both in Group 13, along with Armenia and Estonia. In Group 9 the Netherlands take on Italy, Cyprus and Latvia, while Group 6 includes neighbours Croatia, Serbia, Sweden and Moldova. Turkey, who won the trophy in 2005 and will host next summer's event, are joined by the side who succeeded them as U17 champions Russia, Slovenia and Malta in Group 10.

Fair Play award
The draw was conducted by Jim Boyce, first vice-chairman of UEFA's Youth and Amateur Football Committee, development competitions manager Claudio Negroni and Henning Sauerbier, whose Germany side finished fifth at last season's finals. Of behalf of his team-mates Sauerbier collected the UEFA Fair Play award in recognition of Germany's sporting conduct in Belgium. The top two in each qualifying round section, plus the two third-placed sides with the best record against the top two in their group, will progress to the Elite round, which will be played in the spring of 2009. The winners of the seven Elite round sections will join hosts Germany in the final tournament in May 2009.