The duo, who join Slovakia, Sweden, Russia and Italy as Europe representatives at UAE 2013, will both make their second appearance in the finals as Austria took part in the competition for the first time in 1997, while Croatia made their debut in 2001.
Austria finished third in Group A following their 2-1 win against Switzerland while Sweden and Slovakia shared a scoreless draw to advance to the semi-finals of the European competition which is currently held in Slovakia.
In Group B, Croatia claimed a late 2-1 win against Ukraine to finish third in the group although it was goal difference which denied them a place in the semi-finals of the competition following a 1-1 draw between Italy and Russia, who both qualified to the final four of the competition.
On Wednesday hosts Slovakia climbed top of Group A with one match to play after their 2-2 draw with Switzerland, while Sweden also claimed their fourth point in the pool with a 1-1 draw with Austria.
Slovakia will make their first appearance at the FIFA U-17 World Cup as an independent nation, while Sweden will be debut in the competition. The third qualified team from the group will be determined on Saturday when Austria take on Switzerland in a decisive match.
In Group B, Russia drew 0-0 with Croatia, which was enough for the Russians to qualify to UAE 2013 after reaching four points on top of the group ahead of Italy, who registered their first win thanks to a late 2-1 victory over Ukraine.
While Gli Azzurrini will be making their seventh appearance at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Russia will be making their first appearance in the tournament as an independent nation.
The semi-finals of the 2013 UEFA European U-17 Championship will be played next Tuesday as hosts Slovakia take on Italy while Russia will play against Sweden. The winners in each semi-final will advance to play in the final of the competition next Friday.
Story courtesy of FIFA.com.
For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com

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