Tough Under-21 draw for hosts Sweden

Hosts Sweden face a stern test against five-time winners Italy at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals following this evening's draw in Gothenburg.

Competitive pools
Sweden were pitted against the Azzurrini, Belarus – like the hosts competing in their first final tournament at this level since 2004 and only their second ever – and 2007 runners-up Serbia in Group A. The Group B lineup brings together a pair of two-time winners, Spain and England, along with Germany and a Finland side who are the only first-time finalists competing in next summer's tournament.

'Great tournament'
As ambassador of the 2007 finals, former Dutch international defender Frank de Boer attended the ceremony to return the trophy on behalf of champions the Netherlands, who were eliminated in the group stage and will not be in Sweden to defend their trophy. "It was a great tournament, the stadiums were almost always full and lucky for us we also won the competition," De Boer said.

Ambassadors
De Boer conducted the draw along with UEFA General Secretary David Taylor and Marcus Allbäck, who had been introduced along with fellow former international players Niclas Alexandersson, Roland Nilsson and Patrik Andersson as the respective host city ambassadors for Gothenburg, Halmstad, Helsingborg and Malmo.

Schedule
The action begins on Monday 15 June, with all eight teams playing each of the other three sides in their section. The top two in each group will advance to the semi-finals, scheduled to take place in Helsingborg and Gothenburg on 26 June. The tournament then concludes at the new €62m, 21,000-capacity Malmö New Stadium on Monday 29 June. Click here to see the match schedule.