Four teams, four first-place finishes. The first phase of the Euro qualifying couldn’t have gone better at U19 and U17 level, with the men’s and women’s teams securing their spot for the next stage by finishing top of their respective groups. Between tomorrow and Friday, all of these sides will discover their opponents for the second qualification round, with a place in the finals at stake.

MEN’S U19S (Thursday 5 December, 11:00 CET)
Alberto Bollini’s U19s qualified for the elite round after finishing top of Group 8 with maximum points after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece and Montenegro. The Azzurrini will be in Pot A alongside Denmark, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal. The winners of the seven groups (to be completed by 25 March) will join hosts Romania in the finals, which will take place between 13 and 26 June. A few hours earlier (9:00 CET), the draw for the first qualifying round for the 2025/26 season will be held. Italy will be in Pot A in this case, too, together with Czechia, Denmark, France, England, Israel, Norway, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.

MEN’S U17S (THURSDAY 5 DECEMBER, 11:45 CET)
Massimiliano Favo’s U17s, the reigning European champions, progressed to League A Round 2 after finishing in first place with maximum points in Group 9, which also contained Wales, Norway and San Marino. Italy were in Pot A alongside Belgium, Czechia, France, England, Portugal and Spain. The seven group winners in League A (to be completed by 25 March), which also acts as Europe’s qualifying tournament for the U17 World Cup, will join hosts Albania in the final tournament, scheduled from 19 May to 1 June. Tomorrow (10:00 CET) will also see the 2025/26 Under-17 EURO round 1 draw take place. Italy will be in Pot A alongside Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Croatia, France, Greece, England, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland.

On Friday, meanwhile the U19 and U17 women’s teams will discover their opponents as they look to progress to their final tournaments in Poland (15-27 June) and the Faroe Islands (4-17 May), respectively.