2026 Under-19 EURO: Meet the contenders

The 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Wales runs from 28 June to 11 July.

Hosts Wales are joined by the seven elite round winners in the draw at Wrexham University from 13:00 CET (12:00 local time) on Thursday 16 April. The top two in each section progress to the semi-finals.

We introduce the eight contenders for a competition that will also act as UEFA's qualifier for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Croatia

Qualifying round: Group 6 winners (played in Croatia)
2-0 vs Georgia, 8-0 vs Gibraltar, 4-1 vs Serbia
Elite round: Group 3 winners (played in Croatia)
4-1 vs Switzerland, 1-0 vs Norway, 1-1 vs France
Top scorer: Luka Vrzić 3
2024/25: Elite round
Previous best: Semi-finals (2010)

• First qualification since 2016.

Denmark

Qualifying round: Group 10 winners (played in Switzerland)
6-0 vs San Marino, 0-1 vs Sweden, 7-0 vs Switzerland
Elite round: Group 4 winners (played in Czechia)
0-0 vs Belgium, 3-0 vs Latvia, 2-1 vs Czechia
Top scorers: Jacob Ambæk, Olti Hyseni, Sofus Johannesen, William Martin, Valdemar Møller, Hjalte Boe Rasmussen 2
2024/25: Group stage
Previous best: Group stage (2024, 2025)

• Have now qualified three years in a row, having not previously reached the finals since the last of the U18 EURO tournaments in 2001.

Germany

Qualifying round: Group 12 winners (played in Norway)
7-0 vs Armenia, 5-0 vs Kosovo, 2-1 vs Norway
Elite round: Group 1 winners (played in Germany)
2-2 vs Sweden, 1-0 vs Greece, 3-2 vs Austria
Top scorer: Francis Onyeka 8
2024/25: Semi-finals
Previous best: Winners x 2 (2008, 2014)

• Onkeya was the top scorer across qualifying.

Italy

Qualifying round: Group 9 winners (played in Italy)
8-0 vs Moldova, 0-0 vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1-0 vs Poland
Elite round: Group 6 winners (played in Italy)
3-0 vs Hungary, 3-0 vs Slovakia, 1-1 vs Türkiye
Top scorers: Alessandro Ciardi, Federico Coletta, Jamal Iddrissou, Mattia Mosconi 2
2024/25: Elite round
Previous best: Winners x 3 (2003, 2023)

• This age group won the 2024 U17 EURO title in Cyprus with much of the squad featuring in qualifying, including Coletta, who scored in the Limassol final against Portugal, and Team of the Tournament members Massimo Pessina and Mattia Liberali.

Serbia

Qualifying round: Group 6 runners-up (played in Croatia)
4-0 vs Gibraltar, 3-1 vs Georgia, 1-4 vs Croatia
Elite round: Group 2 winners (played in Portugal)
2-0 vs England, 1-1 vs Portugal, 1-0 vs Poland
Top scorer: Mihajlo Cvetković 3
2024/25: Elite round
Previous best: Winners x 1 (2013)

• Only their second qualification since 2014, when their semi-final appearance qualified them for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which Serbia won.

Spain

Qualifying round: Bye as top seeds
Elite round: Group 7 winners (played in Spain)
4-0 vs Slovenia, 4-0 vs Finland, 3-0 vs Netherlands
Top scorer: Hugo López 4
2024/25: Runners-up
Previous best: Winners x 9 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2024)

• Qualified for a record 16th time and aiming to add to their unmatched nine titles since the reclassification to U19 in 2001/02 (next best is France on three). Knocked out holders Netherlands in qualifying to avenge their final defeat last year in Romania.

Ukraine

Qualifying round: Group 5 winners (played in Albania)
3-0 vs Albania, 3-0 vs Montenegro, 3-0 vs Slovakia
Elite round: Group 5 winners (played in Romania)
1-0 vs Northern Ireland, 3-0 vs Kazakhstan, 1-1 vs Romania
Top scorer: Oleksandr Kamenskyi 4
2024/25: Qualifying round
Previous best: Winners x 1 (2009)

• As wel as their U19 win as hosts in 2009, were semi-finalists in 2018 (a generation that went on to win the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup) and 2024.

Wales (hosts)

Qualified as hosts
Results in 2025/26: 2-1 h vs Austria (06/09), 1-3 h vs Belgium (09/09), 2-5 n vs Switzerland (08/10), 2-0 n vs Netherlands (11/10), 0-7 n vs England (14/10), 3-2 h vs Japan (12/11), 1-1 h vs United States (15/11), 0-3 h vs Germany (18/11), 0-4 n vs United States (28/03)
Top scorer: Mannie Barton 3
2024/25: Elite round
Previous best: First final tournament

• Making their U19 finals debut under Chris Gunter (capped 100 times by Wales), but this age group qualified by right for the 2024 U17 EURO in Cyprus.