Italy face tough start

By Luke Williams in Potsdam

The draw for the first qualifying round of the 2004/05 UEFA European Under-19 Championship took place today in Potsdam.

Youth conference
The draw ceremony, conducted by UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh and UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee chairman Jim Boyce, formed part of the three-day UEFA Youth Conference which is taking place in the German city. Also assisting at the draw was Norway Under-19 captain Jone Samuelsen who collected the 2002/03 U19 fairplay award on behalf of his country.

Italy to face Portugal
The 2003 winners Italy have been drawn in Group 11 with the side they beat in last year's final, Portugal, as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, France, the most successful nation in this tournament's history, are in Group 4 alongside F.Y.R. Macedonia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Qualification procedure
The 12 group winners and 12 group runners-up, as well as the best third-ranked team from all 12 groups will join seeded countries England, Czech Republic and Spain in the second round (see table below). The seven group winners in the second round will then join hosts Northern Ireland at the final tournament in summer 2005.

2004/05 UEFA European Under-19 Championship first round:

Second qualifying round:

1st
Gr 10

N.B. Seeds in bold. The winners of each second-round group join hosts Northern Ireland at the final tournament.