2023 Under-19 EURO finals: Malta drawn with Portugal, Poland and Italy

Malta was drawn in Group A with Portugal, Poland and Italy as the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals draw was held on Wednesday at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta.

Greece, Iceland, Norway and Spain will be playing in Group B. The top two in each group will advance to the knockout phase.

The draw was held by UEFA Chief of Men’s Football & Deputy Director Lance Kelly assisted by the two tournament ambassadors, Michael Mifsud and Joseph Mbong.

Portugal were the top seed in the tournament. They received a bye in the qualifying round, claiming maximum points from the Elite Round Group 4 thanks to a 1-0 win over Sweden and identical 3-0 wins over Czechia and Croatia. They won the championship in 2018, reaching the finals eleven times.

Poland won Group 5 in the qualifying round thanks to two 2-0 wins over Bosnia Herzegovina and Estonia, losing 0-1 to Italy. In the Elite Round, they drew 1-1 with Israel, defeated Latvia 3-0 before another draw, 2-2, with Serbia. They reached the finals twice.

Italy reached the finals eight times, winning the Under-19 EURO in 2003. They qualified to the Elite Round despite placing third in Group 5 after a 0-2 defeat to Estonia, a 3-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 1-0 win over Poland. In the Elite Round Group 2, they defeated Germany 3-2, obtaining a 0-0 draw with Slovenia and a 2-2 draw with Belgium..

Photos courtesy of domenic aquilina / Malta FA