The Northern Ireland men’s Under-19 and Under-17 teams now know who they will face in their respective elite rounds of Euro qualifiers next spring.
Gareth McAuley’s Under-19s will be taking on Ukraine, Romania and Kazakhstan in Group 5 in the elite round of qualifiers for U19 Euro 2026.
And Andy Waterworth’s U17s will be up against Spain, Turkiye and Scotland in Group A6 in the second and final stage of qualifiers for U17 Euro 2026.
Ukraine are top seeds in Group 5 of the U19 Euro 2026 elite round qualifiers, while Romania are second seeds. Kazakhstan were in Pot 3 for today’s draw, with Northern Ireland in Pot 4.
The draw at UEFA HQ in Nyon set seven groups for the mini tournaments that will decide who joins hosts Wales at the U19 finals next summer. The hosts, venues and exact dates for the mini tournaments are TBC.
The top two teams in each qualifying round group and the third-placed team with the best record against the top two teams in their group (Switzerland) have joined top seeds Spain in the elite round.
The 28 teams were drawn into seven groups of four teams, with the group winners to join Wales in the finals. The elite round will, in principle, be played between 23 and 31 March.
McAuley’s side reached stage two after finishing second in Group 13 in the qualifying round last month. The Group 13 mini tournament was staged in Malta where Northern Ireland’s U19s defeated the hosts and Azerbaijan but lost against Czechia, who topped the group on seven points.
The 2025/26 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Round 2 draw, which was also held at UEFA HQ in Switzerland today, split teams into groups within two-tiered leagues to be played next spring.
A total of 28 teams in Round 2 League A (elite round) will compete in seven groups for seven places alongside hosts Estonia in the final tournament between 25 May and 7 June, as well as Europe's berths in the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.
In today’s draw 26 nations were placed in League B; Estonia will play in League B although their finals place is already assured as hosts.
Northern Ireland’s U17s booked their League A spot last month at a mini tournament in Cyprus. They finished second in U17 Euro 2026 Qualifying Round (Group 11) behind the Cypriots, with whom they drew 0-0. Waterworth’s side also defeated Armenia (2-1) and drew with Finland (1-1).
Northern Ireland were in Pot 4 for today’s draw. Spain are top seeds in A6, while Turkiye are second seeds. The Scots were drawn from Pot 3. The games will be staged in March with the hosts, venues and exact dates TBC.
