On Thursday, December 5, the draw for the first round of qualifiers for Euro-2026 U-17 will take place in Nyon, Switzerland.
Photo: uaf.uaThe draw will begin at 11:00 Kyiv time. During it, 54 teams will be divided into 12 groups of four participants and two groups of three participants. The host of the final part, the Estonian national team, will also participate in the qualifiers.
As a result of the first round of qualifiers, 14 group winners and 14 teams finishing in second place will advance to the second round in League A. The remaining 26 teams will participate in the second round in League B.
Teams that reach the second round of qualifiers in League A will compete in the spring of 2026 for seven spots in the final part of Euro-2026 U-17. Estonia, as the host of the tournament, automatically received a pass. It is worth noting that the qualifying round in League A is also a qualifying round for the U-17 World Cup in Qatar 2026.
Additionally, teams from both leagues in the second round of qualifiers will compete for promotion and relegation between leagues before the first round of qualifiers for Euro-2028 U-19.
The youth national team of Ukraine (currently U-16, players born in 2009) has entered pot B based on the UEFA ranking for this age category before the draw for the first round of qualifiers for Euro-2026 U-17.
Pot composition for the first round of qualifiers for Euro-2026 U-17
Pot A: Italy, Portugal, England, France, Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Northern Ireland.
Pot B: Germany, Iceland, Slovenia, Turkey, Netherlands, Denmark, Ukraine, Slovakia, Sweden, Norway, Israel, Hungary, Ireland, Finland.
Pot C: Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Romania, Albania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Wales, Latvia, North Macedonia, Belarus.
Pot D: Scotland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Armenia, Moldova, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein.
The hosts of the mini-tournaments in each group will be agreed upon after the draw. Matches will take place from July 1 to November 18, 2025.
