The UEFA European Under-17 Championship will be opened with a football match between the teams of Bulgaria and Croatia.

This was determined by the draw, which took place on Thursday in the Bulgarian town of Pomorie, the website of UEFA reports.

The opening game of the tournament, which will be held in Bulgaria between May 6 and 22, will take place in Stara Zagora on May 6.

The draw distributed the 15 teams, which have qualified for the final stage, and hosts Bulgaria into four groups with four participants each.

The other opponents of Bulgaria in Group A will be Spain and Austria, while the teams of the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Belgium and Germany will compete in Group B.

Group C pitted against each other Greece, Russia, Scotland and France, while Group D is composed of Ireland, the Nethelands, Italy and England.

The matches from Groups A and B will take place on May 6, 9 and 12, while the games from Groups C and D will be played on May 7, 10 and 13.

The two top teams from each group proceed to the quarterfinals, which will be followed by two semifinals and the final, which will take place on May 22 in Burgas.

Four Bulgarian cities – Burgas, Stara Zagora, Sliven and Sozopol will host the tournament, with the matches to be played at their respective venues Lazur, Beroe, Hadzhi Dimitar and Arena Sozopol.

This will be the first participation for Bulgaria at the final stage of the tournament, which will feature 16 teams for the first time since 2002.

The top six teams from the tournament will qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will take place in Chile between October 17 and November 8.

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