The 2026 UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals run from 25 May to 7 June in Estonia.
We introduce the eight teams in the draw held at 11:00 CET (12:00 local time) at Lilleküla staadion, Tallinn on Thursday 9 April.
The top two in each group will advance to the knockout phase.
U17 EURO finals contenders
Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia (hosts), France, Italy, Montenegro, Spain
Qualifying round: Group 5 winners (played in Belgium)
1-0 vs Moldova, 6-0 vs Belarus, 2-0 vs Norway
Round 2: Group A5 winners (played in Serbia)
2-1 vs Switzerland, 4-3 vs Serbia, 1-0 vs Cyprus
Top scorers: Kiyan Achahbar 5
2024/25: Semi-finals
Previous U17 best: Semi-finals (2007, 2015, 2018, 2025)
- Belgium have got out of the group stage in six of their nine previous U17 EURO finals appearances.
Round 1: Group 8 runners-up (played in Croatia)
1-2 vs Kazakhstan, 3-0 vs Albainia, 3-2 vs Netherlands
Round 2: Group A7 winners (played in Poland)
5-2 vs Slovakia, 2-0 vs Republic of Ireland, 1-1 vs Poland
Top scorers: Jakov Dedić 5
2024/25: Did not qualify
Previous U17 best: Semi-finals (2005)
- Third qualification in four years, though only got past round 1 after coming back from two down to beat the Netherlands 3-2 with an added-time penalty by Ante Beljan.
Round 1: Group 4 runners-up (played in Spain)
3-2 vs Latvia, 4-1 vs Andorra, 0-4 vs Spain
Round 2: Group A4 winners (played in Denmark)
1-1 vs Czechia, 3-0 vs Kazakhstan, 6-2 vs Austria
Top scorer: Mikkel Bro Hansen 5
2024/25: Did not qualify
Previous U17 best: Semi-finals (2011, 2024)
- Qualified for the third time in five years, and got past their group in both 2022 and 2024.
Round 1: Group 1 fourth place (played in Estonia)
1-8 vs Italy, 0-2 vs Ukraine, 0-1 vs Montenegro
Round 2: Group B1 fourth place (played in England), qualified for final tournament as hosts
0-2 vs Israel, 1-2 vs Faroe Islands, 0-2 vs England
Top scorers: Andero Kaares, Aston Visse 1
2024/25: Did not qualify
Previous U17 best: First final tournament
- The Estonia team follow in the footsteps of their 2012 U19 and 2023 Women’s U17 squads, who also took part in EURO final tournaments as hosts.
Round 1: Group 9 winners (played in France)
8-0 vs Azerbaijan, 1-1 vs Romania, 5-0 vs Israel
Round 2: Group A1 winners (played in Slovenia)
2-0 vs Slovenia, 2-1 vs North Macedonia, 2-0 vs Germany
Top scorers: Arone Gadou 5
2024/25: Runners-up
Previous U17 best: Winners x 3 (2004, 2015, 2022)
- France have qualified for the ninth time in the last ten editions and reached their seventh U17 EURO final in 2025.
Round 1: Group 1 runners-up (played in Estonia)
8-1 vs Estonia, 1-2 vs Montenegro, 2-1 vs Ukraine
Round 2: Group A2 winners (played in Italy)
3-2 vs Portugal, 4-0 vs Iceland, 2-1 vs Romania
Top scorer: Diego Perillo 6
2024/25: Semi-finals
Previous U17 best: Winners x 1 (2024)
- Italy had lost in three U17 EURO finals before claiming their first title in 2024 with a win against Portugal, the nation whose European and world title defences they ended in round 2 this time around (coming back from two down to win 3-2 on Matchday 1).
Round 1: Group 1 winners (played in Estonia)
1-1 vs Ukraine, 2-1 vs Italy, 1-0 vs Estonia
Round 2: Group A3 winners (played in Montenegro)
1-0 vs Greece, 4-0 vs Norway, 0-5 vs Sweden
Top scorers: Blažo Djukić, Petar Vujović, Luka Vušurović 2
2024/25: Did not qualify
Previous U17 best: First final tournament
- Only the second Montenegro team to qualify for any UEFA final tournament after last year’s Under-19 squad.
Round 1: Group 4 winners (played in Spain)
3-0 vs Andorra, 5-0 vs Latvia, 4-0 vs Denmark
Round 2: Group A6 winners (played in Northern Ireland)
2-0 vs Northern Ireland, 3-0 vs Scotland, 0-0 vs Türkiye
Top scorer: Ebrima Tunkara 4
2024/25: Did not qualify
Previous U17 best: Winners x 3 (2007, 2008, 2017)
- Including the predecessor U16 EURO, have won a record nine titles.
All stats refer to post-2001/02 U17 EURO
2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup is now an annual 48-team tournament, for which round 2 League A acts as Europe’s qualifying tournament. UEFA has an allocation of 11 places, which go to the seven group winners (who also compete in the EURO final tournament) and four best runners-up.
Qatar are hosting the annual U-17 World Cups until 2029, with this year’s edition running from 3 to 27 November. Montenegro will make their debut in any FIFA World Cup and Greece, Romania and Serbia also earned a global U-17 bow but holders Portugal (who beat Austria in the 2025 final in Al Rayyan with Italy ending third), have not qualified.
Europe’s contenders at 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Frence, Greece*, Italy, Montenegro, Republic of Ireland*, Romania*, Serbia*, Spain
*Four best runners-up in round 2 League A
