2025/26 Under-17 EURO round 1 draw

The 2025/26 UEFA European Under-17 Championship round 1 draw at 10:00 CET on Thursday 5 December in Nyon will set the groups that begin the road to the eight-team finals in Estonia.

The mini-tournaments will be played between 1 July and 18 November 2025, with the group hosts agreed after the draw is made. Estonia will take part in both rounds of qualifying though their place in the final tournament is assured as hosts.

On completion of round 1, the 14 group winners and 14 runners-up qualify for round 2 League A. The remaining 26 teams participate in round 2 League B.

Teams in round 2 League A will compete in spring 2026 for seven places alongside hosts Estonia in the final tournament, as well as places in the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

Teams in both round 2 leagues will play for promotion and relegation between the leagues ahead of 2027/28 U19 EURO round 1.

Competition entries and system

Fifty-four member associations will take part in round 1, including Estonia, the team of the host association staging the final tournament. They will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams and two groups of three teams.

Rankings

The round 1 overall rankings of the 2024/25 edition of the Under-17 championship are taken into account for the round 1 draw of the 2025/26 edition of the Under-17 championship (see article 19.01 of the 2024/25 regulations).

On completion of round 1, an overall ranking is established according to the criteria listed below. Because the groups in round 1 are different sizes, the results of matches against the fourth-placed team are not taken into account for the purposes of comparing the teams placed first, second and third in their respective group.

The following criteria are applied in the order given:
a. higher position in the group
b. higher number of points
c. superior goal difference
d. higher number of goals scored
e. lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points)
f. higher position in the qualifying round coefficient rankings for round 1.

Draw conditions

On the basis of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee and the UEFA Emergency Panel, valid at the time of the draw, the following countries cannot be drawn into the same group: Spain and Gibraltar, Belarus and Ukraine, and Kosovo and Serbia.

The other prohibited team pairings cannot happen due to the pot composition.

Draw procedure

Pot allocation

The 54 associations will be split into 4 pots, as follows:

Pot A:
• Associations ranked 1 to 14 (14 teams)

Italy, Portugal, England, France, Belgium, Spain, Czechia, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Northern Ireland

Pot B:
• Associations ranked 15 to 28 (14 teams)

Germany, Iceland, Slovenia, Türkiye, Netherlands, Denmark, Ukraine, Slovakia, Sweden, Norway, Israel, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Finland

Pot C:
• Associations ranked 29 to 42 (14 teams)

Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Luxembourg, Romania, Albania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Wales, Latvia, North Macedonia, Belarus

Pot D:
• Associations ranked 43 to 54 (12 teams)

Scotland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Armenia, Moldova, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein

The teams will be allocated to groups in ascending order. If clashes arise, the team drawn will be moved to the next available group. The draw continues by first filling the slot left vacant. If clashes arise in the last three or four groups, the teams will be allocated to groups appropriately.

The draw will start with Pot A and end with Pot D. Each pot will be emptied before moving to the next pot.

First draw phase

• The teams in Pot A will be drawn one after another and placed in the first position in Groups 1 to 14.

Second draw phase

• The teams in Pot B will be drawn one after another and placed in the second position in Groups 1 to 14.

Third draw phase

• The teams in Pot C will be drawn one after another and each one placed in the third position in one of the 14 groups.

Fourth draw phase

• The teams in Pot D will be drawn one after another and each one placed in the fourth position in one of the 12 groups.