WU19 EURO qualifying: road to Switzerland
Thursday, September 7, 2017
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The 2017/18 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship qualifying round runs from 8 September to 31 October; there are 48 hopefuls vying for seven places alongside hosts Switzerland.
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The last of UEFA's annual national-team tournaments to finish in 2016/17 will become the first to start in 2017/18 when the Women's U19 EURO qualifying round begins on Friday just 19 days after Spain lifted the trophy in Belfast.
How the competition works
- Of the record entry of 49, all teams are involved in the qualifying round except hosts Switzerland, who have a bye to the finals in July.
- The 48 teams are split into 12 groups, all played as one-venue mini-tournaments to be completed by 31 October (with Spain starting their campaign in that last section in Albania).
- Kosovo make their competition debut on Tuesday when they face the record six-time champions, Group 1 hosts Germany.
- The top two in each qualifying round group plus the four third-placed teams with the best record against the top two in their section progress to the elite round, drawn in November and played in April or June.
- The elite round will consist of seven four-team groups; the section winners join Switzerland in the finals.
Group 1 (12–18 September): Germany*, Iceland, Montenegro, Kosovo
Group 2 (18–24 October): England, Slovenia, Wales, Kazakhstan*
Group 3 (8–14 September): Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania*
Group 4 (25–31 October): Spain (holders), Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Albania*
Group 5 (16–22 October): Norway, Portugal*, Northern Ireland, Cyprus
Group 6 (18–24 October): Netherlands*, Republic of Ireland, Estonia, Latvia
Group 7 (16–22 October): France, Italy, Moldova*, Faroe Islands
Group 8 (17–23 October): Belgium, Austria*, Croatia, FYR Macedonia
Group 9 (18–24 October): Sweden, Czech Republic, Belarus, Bulgaria*
Group 10 (18–24 October): Scotland, Turkey, Hungary*, Armenia
Group 11 (12–18 September): Finland*, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel
Group 12 (12–18 September): Russia, Poland, Greece, Georgia*
*Hosts
The dates
Elite round draw (Nyon): 24 November
Elite round: 2–10 April & 4–12 June
Finals draw (Switzerland): tbc June
Final tournament (Switzerland): 18–30 July
- Switzerland will become the first nation to stage the eight-team final tournament more than once – it was the venue for Germany's 2006 triumph.
