Futsal, Euro U19: San Marino away to face Montenegro and Gibraltar

The draws for the Preliminary Round and Main Round of the Under-19 Futsal European Championship, now in its third edition, were held at lunchtime today. As in the pre-Covid era, the Preliminary Round will once again take place in January. There will be three groups – ten teams in total – each offering one place in the Main Round, which is scheduled for March. San Marino – coming off their historic achievement in November 2021, when they earned their first ever win in the match against Estonia – will once again start from the Preliminary Round. The big novelty for the young Biancazzurri, compared to the previous two editions, is that they will play away from home for the first time. Gibraltar will in fact host – from 17 to 22 January – the Group B fixtures, a pool that will feature, alongside Gibraltar and San Marino, Montenegro. It is therefore a three-team group, bringing together three Small States of Europe, from which only the top side will secure a ticket to the second phase of qualifying. The same format applies to the other three-team group – comprising North Macedonia, Kosovo and debutants Germany – and to the four-team group, made up of England, Lithuania, Estonia and another newcomer, Malta. The winners of Group B – San Marino’s group – will progress to Group 2 of the Main Round, where Ukraine, Romania and hosts Serbia are already waiting. At this stage of the tournament, 28 teams – including Spain, winners of the first two editions – will battle it out to join Croatia, hosts of the third and final stage, in the finals that will crown the strongest side on the continent. The town of Poreč, well known to San Marino futsal, will host the final tournament of the Euro.

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