FIVE countries have booked their Under-21 play-off places as group winners but half of the ten pools are unresolved ahead of tonight's (Tuesday) concluding round of qualifying group stage matches.
England and Scotland still have a good shot at qualifying with England chasing Group leaders Greece after their 1-0 win against Portugal and Scotland are level with Belarus and Austria on 14 points in Group 10.
The line-up for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs will be confirmed when the qualifying group stage finishes this evening.
England
Daniel Sturridge scored the only goal last week to eliminate Portugal and move England closer to group leaders Greece with former loanee Tom Cleverley the architect of England's goal.
Stuart Pearce is again without the services of Watford goalkeeper Scott Loach after he was called-up to the senior squad.
Tonight England face Lithuania in their all-important crunch match.
Scotland
The Scots' qualification will go down to the wire after Group 10 contenders Belarus and Scotland shared the spoils 1-1 in Borisov on Friday night.
Christopher Maguire scored a penalty for Scotland on 64 minutes and Golden Boy Stephen McGinn played his part in the draw, coming on for Peterborough United's Paul Coutts on 84 minutes.
Austria also stand a good chance of qualifying as they stand on 14 points alongside Scotland and Belarus.
Republic of Ireland
Watford Academy graduate Rob Kiernan, currently on loan at Yeovil Town, played the full 90 minutes of Ireland's encounter with the Swiss on Friday.
Unfortunately Switzerland were too strong for Ireland as they secured the top spot in Group 2, condemning the Irish to the bottom of the six-team section. They conclude their campaign against Turkey tonight.
Northern Ireland
Hornets defender Lee Hodson played the full 90 minutes of Northern Ireland's 4-0 win over San Marino.
Andrew Little scored twice as Steve Beaglehole's side beat the visitors for a second time in qualifying Group 5.
Northern Ireland are now fourth in the section with seven points from seven games and conclude their campaign away to holders Germany this evening.
Fellow Watford defender Adam Thompson was also involved in Ireland's match last Friday.
Click here to see the full fixtures for the UEFA Under-21 qualifying period.
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