Malta was drawn in Group B4 along with Norway, Albania and Luxembourg in the 2026/27 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying round 1 as the draw which has set groups in both leagues that begin the road to the eight-team finals in Czechia was held on Wednesday.

The draw was made by Bjorn Vassallo, chairman of the UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee, and Andrej Kostić, part of the Montenegro team in the 2025 finals, who received the Respect Fair Play trophy on behalf of the squad.

Fifty-four teams took part in round 1, including Czechia, the team of the host association staging the final tournament. The teams were divided into two leagues:

League A: Seven groups of four teams (Groups A1 to A7)
League B: Five groups of four teams (Groups B1 to B5) and two groups of three teams (Groups B6 and B7)

In principle, the groups will be played from 23 to 31 March 2026, deciding promotion and relegation ahead of round 2 in the autumn, which will be followed by round 3 the following spring and the final tournament in Czechia in summer 2027.

2026/27 U19 EURO round 1 draw

League A

Group A1: Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden, Cyprus

Group A2: Italy, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Scotland

Group A3: Czechia, Finland, Ukraine, Estonia

Group A4: Germany, Austria, Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group A5: England, Croatia, Spain, Bulgaria

Group A6: Portugal, Serbia, Greece, Kazakhstan

Group A7: France, Switzerland, Hungary, Wales

League B

Group B1: Denmark, Romania, Andorra, Liechtenstein

Group B2: Türkiye, Kosovo, Armenia, Gibraltar

Group B3: Slovakia, Belarus, Latvia, San Marino

Group B4: Norway, Albania, Luxembourg, Malta

Group B5: Netherlands, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Moldova

Group B6: Northern Ireland, Lithuania, Azerbaijan

Group B7: Iceland, Montenegro, Georgia