Northern Ireland’s Under-19s will face Switzerland in round two of the qualifiers for UEFA U19 Euro 2027 this autumn.
And Gareth McAuley’s side will also be taking on North Macedonia and Malta in League B Group 5.
In round one of the qualifiers, played back in March, Northern Ireland’s U19s had a 2-1 comeback win over Azerbaijan in their first match in a three-team League B mini tournament. They then drew 0-0 with hosts Lithuania, who topped the group ahead of them on goal difference.
In the R2 draw Switzerland, who were relegated from League A in the first round, were drawn from Pot 1, while Northern Ireland were in Pot 2. North Macedonia are third seeds in the group, while Malta are the fourth seeds.
And North Macedonia will host the games in the B5 mini tournament from 11 to 17 November.
Under a new format there are now three rounds of qualifiers for each edition of UEFA’s U19 Euros.
In League B a total of 26 teams were drawn into five groups of four teams and two groups of three teams. All group winners in League B are promoted to League A for Round 3.
R3 is set to be played in the spring. The seven group winners in League A will join hosts Czechia in the final tournament next summer.
This year’s UEFA Men’s Under-19 European Championship is being staged in Wales from 28 June to 11 July. Denmark, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Serbia, Italy and Ukraine are the finalists along with the hosts.
