Neighbours meet in opener
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Article summary
Hosts Belgium will take on the Netherlands on the opening day of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship following today's draw for the finals.
Article body
UEFA European Under-17 Championship hosts Belgium will face neighbours the Netherlands on the opening day after the draw for the final tournament was made in Brussels today by former international Marc Wilmots, acting as an ambassador for this event, and UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee chairman Jim Boyce.
Final rematch
Fixtures begin on 2 May with Belgium going on to meet England and Iceland in Group B after their opener against the Dutch. In Group A, France will take on Spain in a rematch of the 2004 final while Germany play Ukraine on Matchday 1, with the full schedule to be announced in the next few days.
World Cup aim
The top two from each group go into the semi-finals on 10 May in Tournai and Tubize, and that quartet will also qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year in Korea Republic along with the winners of a fifth-place play-off in Eupen between the third-ranked teams in the two pools on the same day. The final will be held in Tournai on Sunday 13 May and is among a number of games at the finals which will be broadcast live by Eurosport.
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