Scotland will face host nation Azerbaijan in this summer’s UEFA European Under-17 Championships.
Scot Gemmill’s team will also face Portugal and Belgium after being drawn into Group A at this morning’s ceremony in Baku.
This will be Scotland’s third consecutive appearance at the finals, after reaching the semi-finals in Malta in 2014 and the group stages in Bulgaria last year.
Gemmill said: “It’s an interesting draw for us, especially having drawn Azerbaijan.
“I don’t know anything about their team at the moment, but as the hosts, I know they will be highly motivated.”
The group winners and runners-up both will advance to the last eight and Gemmill believes his team have every chance of progressing beyond the group stages.
He said: “I don’t think there is any one favourite for the group – all the teams have a chance of making the quarter-finals and that will be our primary goal.
“We reached the semi-finals of this competition back in 2014 so know that anything is possible.
“This is a great opportunity for our players to test themselves against the best in their age group and it will be a fantastic challenge for them.”
The draw
Group A: Azerbaijan (hosts), Portugal, Belgium, Scotland
Group B: Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group C: France (holders), Denmark, England, Sweden
Group D: Italy, Serbia, Netherlands, Spain
Calendar (exact schedule and Eurosport coverage tbc)?
Group stage: 5/6, 8/9, 11/12 May (Baku Olympic Stadium, Qarabag Stadium, 8km Stadium, Dalga Arena)?
Quarter-finals: 14/15 May (8km Stadium, Dalga Arena)?
Semi-finals: 18 May (Baku Olympic Stadium)?
Final: 21 May (Baku Olympic Stadium)
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
