2018/19 U17 EURO qualifying round draw made

The road to the 16-team 2018/19 UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals in the Republic of Ireland has begun with the qualifying round draw involving 52 of the hopefuls.

The draw was made by last season's Italy captain Davide Bettella, who received the 2016/17 Respect Fair Play trophy from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin on behalf of his team.

Qualifying round draw
Group 1 (27 September–3 October): Netherlands, Sweden*, Montenegro, Liechtenstein

Group 2 (10–16 October): Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Ukraine, Iceland, Gibraltar

Group 3 (24–30 October): Austria, Slovenia*, Bulgaria, Malta

Group 4 (20–26 October): Spain, Israel, Faroe Islands, FYR Macedonia*

Group 5 (26 October–1 November): Scotland, Switzerland, Cyprus*, Kosovo

Davide Bettella receives Italy's Respect Fair Play award from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin©Sportsfile

Group 6 (24–30 October): Russia, Denmark*, Georgia, Estonia

Group 7 (25–31 October): France, Poland*, Finland, Luxembourg

Group 8 (23–29 October): Czech Republic, Norway, Azerbaijan, Albania*

Group 9 (30 September–6 October): Serbia, Hungary*, Romania, Lithuania

Group 10 (24–30 October): Turkey*, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, San Marino

Group 11 (10–16 October): Portugal*, Wales, Belarus, Kazakhstan

Group 12 (25–31 October): Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Moldova*

Group 13 (27 October–2 November): Italy, Croatia*, Armenia, Andorra

*Hosts

Bye to elite round: England, Germany

Bye to final tournament: Republic of Ireland (hosts)

• The top two in each group along with the four third-placed teams with the best record against the leading pair will join top seeds England and Germany in the elite round in March 2019.

• After that round, the eight group winners and seven runners-up with the best record against the teams first and third in their pool will join hosts Ireland in that May's finals.

• The finals will act as Europe's qualifier for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup, with England hoping to be able to defend their title.