Under-21: qualifying groups drawn for Euro 2027

The Under-21 European Championship qualifying draw took place this morning in Nyon (Switzerland). The final tournament will be held in 2027 in Serbia and Albania. The San Marino Under-21 National Team – coached by head coach Matteo Cecchetti – has been placed in Group A with Spain, Romania, Finland, Kosovo and Cyprus. The Titani will therefore face Spain again, the top seeds in the draw, after their previous meetings in 2016 and 2005. It is worth recalling that in October 2005 the Biancazzurrini – then coached by Sereno Uraldi – had the satisfaction of scoring a goal against La Roja through Matteo Valli. There are also four previous meetings with Finland: in addition to three defeats, there was an excellent goalless draw against the Scandinavians in 2014 (with Matteo Papini in charge of the Titani). The match-up with Cyprus also brings back positive memories: there have been two previous encounters between the small states, including a narrow 2-1 defeat in 2012 – when the head coach was Pierangelo Manzaroli – with the Titani goal scored by Manuel Battistini. By contrast, there are no previous meetings in games against Romania and Kosovo, two sides that have recently shown excellent quality: Romania won their qualifying group to book a place at this year’s final tournament in Slovakia, while the Balkan side collected 10 points in a qualifying section featuring Germany and Poland. The campaign of the Under-21 National Team will kick off on 4 September 2025 away to Finland, while the first home match at the Stadium will be on 9 September against Romania.

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