England U21s face Republic test

England's U21 team line before the game with Spain

England and the Republic of Ireland have been drawn together in the qualifying groups for the 2009 European Under-21 Championship in Sweden.

Portugal, Bulgaria and Montenegro make up the rest of Group Three in the 10-group qualifying stage.

Northern Ireland play Germany, Israel, Moldova and Luxembourg in Group Nine, while Wales take on France, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Malta.

In Group Six, Scotland play Finland, Lithuania, Denmark and Slovenia.

Qualifying for the tournament will begin next season.

Before then, England will compete in this year's finals in Holland, under the guidance of Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce.

The winners of the 10 qualifying groups and the four best-performing runners-up, will contest seven two-legged knock-out matches to decide who joins hosts Sweden in the tournament.

Scotland will begin their campaign with an away match against Finland on 8 September and complete their group fixtures on 10 September 2008 in Denmark.