Under-19 EURO: Meet the contenders

The UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Northern Ireland runs from 15 to 28 July, with the hosts joined by the seven elite round winners.

We introduce the eight teams who will compete for the title.

Match dates

Group A: 15, 18, 21 July
Group B: 16, 19, 22 July
Semi-finals: 25 July
Final: 28 July

Denmark

Qualifying round: Group 1 winners (played in France)
D1-1 vs Iceland, W4-0 vs Estonia, W2-1 vs France
Elite round: Group 4 winners (played in Portugal)
W3-1 vs Serbia, W2-1 vs Greece, W2-0 vs Portugal
Top scorer: Valdemar Andreasen 5
2022/23: Elite round
Previous best: Finals debut

• Qualified for the last of the U18 EURO tournaments in 2001, exiting in the group stage.

France

Qualifying round: Group 1 runners-up (played in France)
W2-0 vs Estonia, W1-0 vs Iceland, L1-2 vs Denmark
Elite round: Group 2 winners (played in Netherlands)
W2-0 vs Belgium, W1-0 vs Netherlands, L0-2 vs Lithuania
Top scorer: Mathys Tel 2
2022/23: Elite round
Previous best: Winners x 3 (2005, 2010, 2016)

• Won the previous U19 EURO in Northern Ireland in 2005; include much of the squad that won the 2022 U17 EURO.

Italy (holders)

Qualifying round: Group 4 runners-up (played in Sweden)
W7-0 vs Liechtenstein, L0-1 vs Switzerland, D2-2 vs Sweden
Elite round: Group 5 winners (played in Italy)
W3-1 vs Scotland, W2-1 vs Czechia, W5-0 vs Georgia
Top scorer: Simone Pafundi 5
2022/23: Winners
Previous best: Winners x 2 (2003, 2023)

• Beat Portugal in the 2023 final, just as in 2003.

Northern Ireland

Qualified as hosts
Results in 2023/24: L2-3a vs Italy (7 September), L1-2h vs Hungary (15 November), L0-2h vs Czechia (18 November), L0-3h vs Portugal (21 November)
Top scorers: Reece Evans, Gallagher Lennon, Devlan Moses 1
2022/23: Elite round
Previous best: Group stage (2005)

• Second time as hosts after 2005.

Norway

Qualifying round: Group 2 winners (played in Latvia)
W10-0 vs Gibraltar, W3-0 vs Latvia, W2-1 vs Hungary
Elite round: Group 3 winners (played in Bosnia and Herzegovina)
W2-1 vs Montenegro, W3-2 vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, W2-0 vs Israel
Top scorer: Sindre Walle Egeli 7
2022/23: Semi-finals
Previous best: Semi-finals (2023)

• Got through the group stage for the first time at their sixth attempt last year; the only team to win all six qualifying games.

Spain

Qualifying round: Group 6 winners (played in Georgia)
W5-0 vs Moldova, W2-0 vs Cyprus, W4-0 vs Georgia
Elite round: Group 1 winners (played in Slovenia)
D1-1 vs Slovenia, W2-1 vs Kosovo, W2-1 vs Austria
Top scorer: Yarek Gasiorowski 4
2022/23: Semi-finals
Previous best: Winners x 8 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)

• Qualified for a record 14th time and aiming to add to their unmatched eight titles since the reclassification to U19 in 2001/02 (next best is France on three).

Türkiye

Qualifying round: Group 8 winners (played in Türkiye)
W3-1 vs Lithuania, W3-1 vs Belarus, W1-0 vs Greece
Elite round: Group 6 winners (played in Croatia)
W2-0 vs Romania, W2-1 vs Croatia, L0-2 vs Germany
Top scorer: Semih Kılıçsoy 3
2021/22: Elite round
Previous best: Runners-up (2004)

• First qualification since 2018.

Ukraine

Qualifying round: Group 7 winners (played in Malta)
W3-1 vs Malta, L0-4 vs Kosovo, W4-0 vs Slovakia
Elite round: Group 7 winners (played in North Macedonia)
W2-0 vs North Macedonia, W3-0 vs Latvia, W3-0 vs Switzerland
Top scorer: Matvii Ponomarenko 6
2022/23: Elite round
Previous best: Winners x 1 (2009)

• Reached the semi-finals on their last qualification in 2018.