What you need to know about #U19EURO
Friday, June 30, 2017
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Who is involved? How can I follow it? Where can I watch the games? UEFA.com answers all your UEFA European Under-19 Championship questions.
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How does the tournament work?
Seven countries booked their places at the finals, which run from 2 to 15 July, alongside hosts Georgia by negotiating the qualifying and elite rounds.
These eight teams will compete in two groups of four, with the top two in each section progressing to the semi-finals. Games are 90 minutes in duration and knockout fixtures level at full time will be followed by two 15-minute periods of extra time; if there is still no winner then, the tie will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
Where is it being held?
The 15 matches will be played at four venues – three in Tbilisi and one in Gori, to the west of the capital. The final and one semi-final will take place at Mikheil Meskhi-1 Stadium.
Who has qualified?
The line-up is as follows:
Group A: Czech Republic, Georgia, Portugal, Sweden
Group B: Bulgaria, England, Germany, Netherlands
• Germany, champions in 2008 and 2014, are the only side to have previously won the title.
• Holders France were eliminated in the elite round, finishing bottom of a section won by Bulgaria.
• Sweden are in the U19 finals for the first time.
When are the games?
Group matches: 2/3, 5/6 and 8/9 July
Semi-finals: 12 July
Final: 19 May
Where can I watch it?
Eurosport will show six group matches, both semi-finals and the final.
How else can I follow the finals?
UEFA.com will provide in-depth coverage, including match reports, features and video highlights. Keep an eye on @UEFAcom for the latest from Georgia, get involved using #U19EURO and download the official tournament programme (LINK).
What happened last year?
A France side including Kylian Mbappé, Lucas Tousart, Issa Diop, Jean-Kévin Augustin and Amine Harit swept to the title in Germany, overpowering Italy 4-0 in the final – a U19 record.
Do any famous players have U19 experience?
In a word, yes. Gerard Piqué, Antoine Griezmann, Andrés Iniesta, Fernando Torres, Sergio Ramos, Giorgio Chiellini, Hugo Lloris and Álvaro Morata have all won this trophy, while the likes of Philipp Lahm, Burak Yılmaz, Manuel Neuer, Arda Turan, Mesut Özil and Jordi Alba, to name but six, have all been involved in the tournament.
More recently, André Silva was part of the Portugal side that reached the 2014 final – he moved from Porto to AC Milan this summer – with Joshua Kimmich and Julian Brandt part of the victorious Germany squad the same year. Aleksandr Golovin (Russia), Kingsley Coman (France) and Leroy Sané (Germany) all featured in 2015, while Mbappé scored five goals in France's 2016 triumph before helping Monaco to win Ligue 1 the next season.