On Thursday, December 5 in Nyon, Switzerland, the draw procedure for the first round of qualification for Euro 2026 (U-17) will take place.

The draw will begin at 11:00 AM Kyiv time. During it, 54 teams will be divided into 12 groups with four participants each and two groups with three participants each. The host of the final tournament, Estonia's national team, will also participate in the qualification.

Based on the results of the first round of qualification, 14 group winners and 14 teams that finish second will advance to the second round in League A. The remaining 26 teams will take part in the second round in League B.

Teams advancing to the second round of qualification in League A in spring 2026 will compete for seven spots in the final stage of Euro 2026 (U-17). Estonia, as the tournament host, has received an automatic bye. It should be noted that the qualifying round in League A is also a qualification round for the World Cup 2026 (U-17) in Qatar.

Moreover, teams from both leagues of the second round of qualification will compete for promotion and relegation between leagues before the first round of Euro 2028 (U-19) qualification.

The Ukrainian youth national team (currently U-16, players born in 2009), based on the UEFA ranking for this age category, will enter Pot B before the draw for the first round of Euro 2026 (U-17) qualification.

The composition of pots for the first round of Euro 2026 (U-17) qualification

Pot A: Italy, Portugal, England, France, Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Northern Ireland.

Pot B: Germany, Iceland, Slovenia, Turkey, Netherlands, Denmark, Ukraine, Slovakia, Sweden, Norway, Israel, Hungary, Ireland, Finland.

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

Pot D: Scotland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Armenia, Moldova, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein.

The hosts of the mini-tournaments in each group will be determined after the draw. Matches will take place from July 1 to November 18, 2025.