This morning saw the draw for the Euro 2023 Under-21 qualifiers in Nyon. Italy, in the draw’s top seed, have been placed in Group F and will have to face off against Sweden, the Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Luxembourg. The winners of the nine groups and the best runner-up will go through to the final stages, which will take place in the summer of 2023 in Georgia and Romania, whilst the other eight runners up will contend for the remaining 4 spots in the play-offs. The qualifiers will start in March 2021 and finish in June 2022, with the play-offs scheduled for September 2022. This tournament will also determine which countries will take part in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

But first, Italy will be involved in the finals of the 2021 Euros. The tournament format has been modified with a group stage scheduled for March before a straight knockout phase in June. Paolo Nicolato’s side will take on the Czech Republic in Celje on 24 March, Spain in Maribor on 30 March and then hosts Slovenia on 30 March, also in Maribor. The top two sides from the four groups will book their ticket to the knockout rounds, which take place in Hungary and Slovenia from 31 May to 6 June.

The qualifying groups for Euro U21 2023

Group A: Croatia, Austria, Norway, Finland, Azerbaijan, Estonia
Group B: Germany, Poland, Israel, Hungary, Latvia, San Marino
Group C: Spain, Russia, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Malta
Group D: Portugal, Greece, Iceland, Belarus, Cyprus, Liechtenstein
Groupr E: Netherlands, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Moldova, Gibraltar
Group F: ITALY, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Luxembourg
Group G: England, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Albania, Kosovo, Andorra
Group H: France, Serbia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Faroe Islands, Armenia
Group I: Denmark, Belgium, Turkey, Scotland, Kazakhstan