Malta still in contention despite goalless draw

Malta completed their commitments in Group Eight of the UEFA U-17 mini-tournament with a goalless draw against hosts Andorra in La Vella yesterday.

Charles Scerri's boys, who needed a win to secure one of the two automatic qualifying spots, finished third with four points from three matches.

The Netherlands beat N. Ireland 1-0 yesterday. Both teams finished joint top with six points and progress to the Elite Round which will be played in March.

But, with the two third-placed teams with the best record against the top pair in the same section also going through, Malta still holds hopes of advancing thanks mainly to Saturday's impressive 2-1 win over the Netherlands, last season's championship runners-up.

That victory has put Malta as one of the best third-placed sides in all 13 groups.

However, Scerri and his players must face an anxious wait as there are still three mini-tournaments to finish and they will be completed by the end of this week.

In Group Five, Germany and Finland are battling for the second qualifying spot behind leaders Turkey while in Group Nine Norway must beat leaders Italy to pip Malta for a place in the Elite Round.

The other mini-tournament still in progress is Group One in Baku.

So far, England, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Azerbaijan have only played one match each.