Youth national teams: San Marino to host two mini-tournaments in spring

The draws for the qualification paths of the Under-17 and Under-19 national teams towards the final tournament of EURO 2026-27 were held this morning. The Under-17 continental competition starts from Round 1, which does not include a League system. San Marino have been placed in Group 11, alongside Türkiye (top seeding pot), North Macedonia (second pot) and Hungary (third pot). Türkiye will act as host nation and the matchdays are scheduled for 11, 14 and 17 November 2026. At the end of this phase, the fourteen groups will determine the line-up for Round 2, to be played in spring 2027. Here there will be a League split: the top two in each Round 1 group will move into League A, while the remaining 26 teams will make up League B. The winners of the seven Round 2 groups (League A) will join Latvia (host nation) in the final tournament of the EURO. Round 2 will also serve as the qualification pathway for the Under-17 World Cup, to be held in Qatar in 2027. Meanwhile, the 2025-26 EURO is still ongoing. San Marino’s Under-17 national team, which played Round 1 in Slovakia between last October and November, also discovered this morning their opponents and venue for the Round 2 group. The young Titans will be hosts between 9 and 17 April 2026, welcoming Wales, Georgia and Andorra, all drawn, like the Titano national team, into Group B3.

A significant new feature concerns the Under-19 EURO 2026-27: the qualification path will now be split into three Rounds. Round 1 – for which today’s draw was made – is divided into League A and League B, based on the results from the previous Under-17 EURO Round 2. San Marino are in League B and have been placed in Group 3 together with Slovakia, Belarus and Latvia. This mini-tournament will be played at the foot of Mount Titano from 14 to 21 May 2026 – it being understood that Belarus must obtain a Schengen visa in order to travel to Italy. This phase will determine how Round 2 is composed, which will also be split into Leagues. Teams finishing from first to third place in the League A groups of Round 1 will remain in the same League for Round 2. The fourth-placed teams will be relegated to League B, making way for the group winners from League B in Round 1. Round 2 will be played in autumn 2026 and will serve as a prelude to Round 3, designed in the form of an elite round with no League split. It will feature 28 teams, divided into seven groups of four. The group winners will join Czechia (host nation) in the final tournament.