Further qualification issues resolved

Although only a handful of matches need to be played to complete the qualification round for the 2002 UEFA Under-21 Championship, some issues remain unresolved prior to the play-off draw, which is scheduled to take place in Prague on Thursday 11 October at 12:30CET.

Eight group winners known
With five matches yet to be played in the qualifying competition, eight of the nine group winners are known. Prior to the final series of matches, five teams had already booked their place in the play-offs as group winners. With 24 points from nine matches, the Czech Republic had wrapped up group three, while Turkey had also secured their place from group four. Elsewhere, in the only four-team group, Belgium had already been confirmed as group winners ahead of Croatia, Scotland and Latvia, while France and Italy had repelled all challengers in groups seven and eight respectively.

Swiss advance
The final round of matches on Friday helped to resolve the situation in group one where Switzerland's fightback from two goals down to secure a 3-3 draw with Russia in Ramenskoye provided them with top spot. Both Ukraine and Norway suffered defeats in their final outings to Poland and Armenia respectively in group five. But with 19 points, the Ukrainians ended in first place, while Poland moved ahead of Norway in second, one point further adrift. Finally, in group nine, England claimed first spot at Greece's expense with a 2-1 victory over their closest rivals.

Unresolved group winners
As Portugal's match with Estonia was postponed due to inclement weather conditions, only the first place details for group two remain unresolved. But no matter the outcome of this match, the group principals Portugal and the Netherlands are at least guaranteed a play-off spot. Should Portugal win or draw against the Estonians, they will finish as group winners, with the Dutch in second place. But should Estonia win, the Portuguese would finish second to the Dutch and three points clear of the Republic of Ireland in third place.

Complicated calculations
With the seven best runners-up joining the nine group winners in the play-off draw, defining the top seven best-placed second placed finishers requires further calculation. To calculate the order of second-placed teams, their individual record against the first, third and fourth-placed teams in their respective groups are totalled. The first criteria are points won in these matches, followed by goal difference, the number of goals scored, with the fourth criteria involving the number of away goals scored. The fifth and sixth criteria - Fair Play conduct and the drawing of lots - is not required in this instance. This calculation provides a ranking of nine teams, with the lowest placed two teams eliminated from the competition.

Russia lose out
The best record of the second-placed teams against the top four teams belongs to Greece with 12 points, with Poland, Croatia and the Netherlands a further point behind on eleven points. As previously stated, no matter the outcome of the Portugal-Estonia match, Portugal are guaranteed a place in the play-offs. At the moment, the Portuguese have 13 points against the top four sides in their group, so should Estonia win, they would still qualify as the top ranked second-placed team, while the Netherlands would be group winners. Also qualified are Romania and Spain on ten points, who are ranked ahead of Sweden and Bulgaria on goal difference. This leaves Russia as the only other second-placed team, but with nine points collected from the teams ranked in first, third and fourth positions in group one, they are regarded as the weakest team among the runners-up and are, therefore, eliminated from the competition.

Final issue
This means that Sweden and Bulgaria will fight it out for the final place. With Bulgaria having concluded their series of matches, the Swedes - who host Azerbaijan in their final engagement - need only a draw to advance to the play-offs. Should Sweden win or draw, they will finish with eleven points against the other teams in the top four in their group. But should they lose, they will have collected only eight points against this group, and will thus lose out to the Bulgarians.

Qualification summary
Group winners: Switzerland, Netherlands or Portugal, Czech Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, Belgium, France, Italy, England.
Runners-up guaranteed a play-off place: Greece, Poland, Croatia, Netherlands or Portugal, Romania and Spain.
Outstanding issue: One from Sweden or Bulgaria will advance depending on the result of the Sweden versus Azerbaijan match. A win or draw will see Sweden advance.
Definitely eliminated: Russia, who by calculation are regarded as the weakest second-placed team.