Under-17 EURO round 1 report: Leagues decided for round 2

Round 1 of the 2024/25 UEFA European Under-17 Championship is complete with the 14 mini-tournaments deciding the leagues for the next stage of the new-look format.

Qualifying is now in two rounds, with the second stage split into two tiers. The reformatted eight-team final tournament will be in Albania, scheduled for 19 May to 1 June 2025. Hosts Albania take part in both rounds of qualifying even through their place in the final tournament is assured.

In round 1, the top two teams in each group have qualified to take part in round 2 League A (which will decide the seven teams joining hosts Albania in the finals), and the other teams transfer to round 2 League B.

Among those who have clinched League A slots are holders Italy, who won all their Group 9 games and included in their side one of last season's victorious squad in Cyprus, Thomas Campaniello. His six goals in their mini-tournament in San Marino was the best overall tally.

The round 2 draw is at 11:45 CET on Thursday 5 December

Round 1 groups

Group 1
Into League A for round 2: England, Sweden
Into League B for round 2: Latvia, Malta*

Group 2
Into League A for round 2: Poland, Slovenia*
Into League B for round 2: Georgia, Armenia

Group 3
Into League A for round 2: Croatia, Netherlands
Into League B for round 2: Albania* (finals hosts), Faroe Islands

Group 4
Into League A for round 2: Belgium*, Ukraine
Into League B for round 2: Kosovo, Kazakhstan

Group 5
Into League A for round 2: Portugal*, Finland
Into League B for round 2: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Liechtenstein

Group 6
Into League A for round 2: Greece, Hungary
Into League B for round 2: Romania*, Azerbaijan

Group 7
Into League A for round 2: Czechia, Germany*
Into League B for round 2: Belarus, Andorra

Group 8
Into League A for round 2: Northern Ireland*, Republic of Ireland
Into League B for round 2: Lithuania, Scotland

Republic of Ireland finish ahead of Lithuania on lower disciplinary points total as per article 14.01g of the official regulations.

Group 9
Into League A for round 2: Italy (holders), Norway
Into League B for round 2: Wales, San Marino*

Group 10
Into League A for round 2: Switzerland, Israel
Into League B for round 2: Montenegro, Moldova*

Group 11
Into League A for round 2: France, Slovakia
Into League B for round 2: Cyprus*, Gibraltar

Group 12
Into League A for round 2: Spain, Iceland*
Into League B for round 2: North Macedonia, Estonia

Group 13
Into League A for round 2: Serbia*, Türkiye
Into League B for round 2: Bulgaria

Group 14
Into League A for round 2: Austria, Denmark*
Into League B for round 2: Luxembourg

*Group hosts

Following the completion of round 1, all the participating teams will be divided into League A (28 teams – seven groups of four teams) and League B (26 teams – five groups of four teams and two groups of three teams) for round 2.

The top two teams in each of the 14 round 1 groups qualify for League A in round 2, to compete in spring for the seven places alongside hosts Albania in the finals. Teams in League B will compete for promotion to League A for qualifying round 1 of the 2026/27 U19 EURO

U17 EURO format from 2024/25

Qualifying

Qualifying consists of two stages, now named round 1 (in autumn) and round 2 (in spring). Both rounds are played as single-venue mini-tournaments.

Round 1

All entered teams participate in round 1, including the final tournament hosts (who currently do not take part in qualifying, and who will continue to have their place in the finals assured under the new format). The entrants will be drawn into 14 groups of four or three teams, depending on the number of participating associations.

Following round 1, 28 teams qualify to take part in round 2 League A, with the remainder going into League B.

In future seasons, the results of round 1 will be taken into account for the round 1 draw for the following edition.

Round 2

In League A, the 28 teams will be drawn into seven groups of four. The seven group winners will qualify to join the hosts in the final tournament. If the hosts are among the seven group winners, the best runners-up will also qualify.

The seven teams ranked fourth in the League A groups will be relegated to League B for round 1 of U19 EURO qualifying for the same age cohort (so teams relegated from League A in 2024/25 U17 EURO round 2 will begin 2026/27 U19 EURO round 1 in League B).

In League B, the teams will be drawn into seven groups of four or three, depending on the number of competitors. The seven League B winners will be promoted to League A for round 1 of U19 EURO qualifying for the same age cohort (so teams promoted from League B in 2024/25 U17 EURO round 2 will begin 2026/27 U19 EURO round 1 in League A).

The draw for round 2 will be held in the December following round 1 (e.g. December 2024 for round 2 of the 2024/25 edition).

Final tournament

The final tournament will involve eight teams from 2025 onwards, initially competing in two groups of four, with the top two in each section progressing to the semi-finals.

World Cup

The FIFA U-17 World Cup is changing from 2025 to become an annual 48-team tournament, for which the 2024/25 U17 EURO will act as Europe's qualifying tournament, with full details of confederation allocations to follow. Qatar has been announced as host nation for the first five annual U-17 World Cups between 2025 and 2029.