2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship

2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Pencampwriaeth Ewropeaidd Dan-19 UEFA 2026
Tournament details
Host countryWales
CitiesWrexham
Bangor
Caernarfon
Denbigh
Dates28 June – 11 July
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venues4 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Spain (13th title)
Runners-up Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played16
Goals scored49 (3.06 per match)
Attendance21,856 (1,366 per match)
Top scorer(s)Germany Otto Stange
Spain José Morante
(4 goals each)
Best playerSpain Quim Junyent
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship and the 73rd edition if the Under-18 and Junior eras are also included. It was the annual international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-19 national teams of Europe. Wales, which was selected by UEFA on 26 September 2023, hosted the tournament from 28 June to 11 July 2026.[1][2][3] A total of eight teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2007 eligible to participate.

As with previous editions held in even-numbered years, the tournament acted as the UEFA qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The four semi-finalists qualified for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, while the two third-placed teams in the group stage met in a play-off for another UEFA berth.[4][5]

Spain won the tournament and extended their lead in total championships for this age range.

Despite being the lowest attended edition of the under-19 tournament in history, Football Association of Wales CEO Noel Mooney said that "UEFA have been absolutely delighted with how we've managed this tournament and the delivery of this tournament.[6]"

Wales, making its debut, became the first country to register no points or goals in the tournament since Bulgaria in the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Wales also set a record with the worst goal difference in tournament history (−14).

Venues

Upon being awarded the tournament in 2023, the Football Association of Wales anticipated that the tournament would be staged across five venues in north Wales: Bangor, Colwyn Bay, Deeside, Denbigh and Wrexham.[3] The final list of match venues was later confirmed as four stadiums: the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, Bangor City Stadium in Bangor, The Oval in Caernarfon and Central Park in Denbigh.[7][8] Colwyn Bay and Rhyl were listed among the training venues for the tournament.[7]

Wrexham Bangor
Racecourse Ground Bangor City Stadium
Capacity: 13,341 Capacity: 3,000
Caernarfon Denbigh
The Oval
Capacity: 3,000		 Central Park
Capacity: 2,300

Qualification

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

Note: All appearance statistics include only the U-19 era since 2002.

Team Qualification method Date of qualification Appearance(s) Previous best performance[a]
Total First Last Streak
 Wales Host nation 26 September 2023 1st Debut Debut
 Germany Elite round Group 1 winners 31 March 2026 11th 2002 2025 2 Champions (2008, 2014)
 Serbia Elite round Group 2 winners 31 March 2026 9th 2005 2022 1 Champions (2013)
 Croatia Elite round Group 3 winners 31 March 2026 4th 2010 2016 1 Semi-finals (2010)
 Denmark Elite round Group 4 winners 31 March 2026 3rd 2024 2025 3 Group stage (2024, 2025)
 Ukraine Elite round Group 5 winners 28 March 2026 7th 2004 2024 1 Champions (2009)
 Italy Elite round Group 6 winners 31 March 2026 11th 2003 2024 1 Champions (2003, 2023)
 Spain Elite round Group 7 winners 31 March 2026 16th 2002 2025 4 Champions (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2024)

Officials

A total of 6 Referees, 8 Assistants and 2 Fourth Officials were selected for the tournament.

Referees Assistant Referees Fourth Officials
  • Norway Marius Hansen Grøtta (Norway)
  • Wales Aaron Wyn Jones (Wales)

Squads

Each national team submitted a squad of 20 players, two of whom had to be goalkeepers. Players born on or after 1 January 2007 are eligible to participate. The age listed for each player is their age as of 28 June 2026, the first day of the tournament.

Group stage

The group winners and runners-up advance to the semi-finals. The third-placed teams advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup play-off.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 3 3 0 0 14 0 +14 9 Knockout stage
2  Germany 3 2 0 1 8 7 +1 6
3  Denmark 3 1 0 2 6 7 −1 3 FIFA U-20 World Cup play-off
4  Wales (H) 3 0 0 3 0 14 −14 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Wales 0−7 Spain
Report
Attendance: 3,606
Referee: Joakim Östling (Sweden)
Germany 4−3 Denmark
 Report
Attendance: 921
Referee: Sam Barrott (England)
Denmark 0−3 Spain
Report
Attendance: 1,130
Referee: Igor Stojchevski (North Macedonia)
Wales 0−4 Germany
Report
Attendance: 1,535
Referee: Bence Csonka (Hungary)
Denmark 3−0 Wales
 Report
Attendance: 1,745
Referee: Joey Kooij (Netherlands)
Spain 4−0 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 1,725
Referee: Joakim Östling (Sweden)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Ukraine 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Knockout stage
2  Croatia 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
3  Italy 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 4 FIFA U-20 World Cup play-off
4  Serbia 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Updated to match(es) played on 2 July 2026. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Italy 2–0 Serbia
 Report
Attendance: 1,212
Referee: Florian Badstübner (Germany)
Croatia 1−3 Ukraine
 Report
Attendance: 826
Referee: Igor Stojchevski (North Macedonia)
Croatia 0–0 Italy
Report
Attendance: 1,203
Referee: Joey Kooij (Netherlands)
Serbia 1–2 Ukraine
  • Ranković 16'
 Report
  • Glyut 32', 36'
Attendance: 859
Referee: Sam Barrott (England)
Ukraine 1–0 Italy
 Report
Attendance: 1,074
Referee: Bence Csonka (Hungary)
Serbia 0–3 Croatia
Report
Attendance: 1,141
Referee: Florian Badstübner (Germany)

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winners if necessary.

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
8 July – Central Park, Denbigh
 
 
 Spain3
 
11 July – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
 
 Croatia0
 
 Spain2
 
8 July – Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
 
 Germany0
 
 Ukraine1
 
 
 Germany2
 

FIFA U-20 World Cup play-off

Winners advance to the inter-confederation play-offs, to qualify for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Denmark 0−0 (a.e.t.) Italy
Report
Penalties
  • Søndergaard football with check mark
  • Gøthler football with red X
  • Lærke football with check mark
  • Kirk football with check mark
  • Abrahamsen football with check mark
  • Stüker football with check mark
 5−4
Attendance: 568
Referee: Florian Badstübner (Germany)

Semi-finals

Spain 3−0 Croatia
 Report
Attendance: 1,121
Referee: Bence Csonka (Hungary)
Ukraine 1−2 Germany
  • Glyut 43'
 Report
Attendance: 857
Referee: Joey Kooij (Netherlands)

Final

Spain 2–0 Germany
 Report
Attendance: 2,333
Referee: Samuel Barrott (England)

Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup

The following teams from UEFA qualified for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup, including Azerbaijan, which qualified as co-host. Denmark  was advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup1
 Azerbaijan (H)2 October 20250 (debut)
 Spain1 July 202617th (1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2025)
 Germany1 July 202612th (1981, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2015 and 2017)
 Ukraine2 July 20266th (2001, 2005, 2015, 2019 and 2025)
 Croatia5 July 20264th (1999, 2011 and 2013)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year

Inter-confederation play-offs

A four-team play-off tournament will decide the final slot in the competition. The play-off slot allocation is as follows:

  • AFC (Asia): 1 slot:TBD (March 2027)
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 1 slot:TBD (February 2027)
  • OFC (Oceania): 1 slot:TBD (12 September 2026)
  • UEFA (Europe): 1 slot: Denmark 

The competition will be held at a neutral venue and will consist of two single leg semi-finals and a final, with the winner of the final qualifying.

Goalscorers

There were 49 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 3.06 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

  • Denmark Gustav Schjøtt (against Germany)

Source: UEFA

Team of the Tournament

The UEFA Technical Observer group announced the team of the tournament after the end of the competition.[9]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Spain Manuel González

Notes

  1. ↑ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

References

  1. ↑ "Wales and Israel to stage U19 EURO in 2026 and 2027". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "2026 U19 EURO finals in Wales: Tournament information". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 17 April 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Wales to host UEFA U19 Euro Championship 2026". faw.cymru. Football Association of Wales. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Under-19 EURO final tournament starts 28 June: Fixtures". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "2026 U19 EURO finals draw". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Uefa Men's Under-19 Championship: Wales to profit from 'massive' hosting legacy". BBC Sport. 2026-07-13. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  7. 1 2 "UEFA Under-19 Championship Wales 2026: The Future of Football comes to North Wales". faw.cymru. Football Association of Wales. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "UEFA U19 EURO". faw.cymru. Football Association of Wales. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "2026 Under-19 EURO Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 13 July 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
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