This is the first year for the U-19 qualification to have a new format, similar to the U-17 qualification and Women's U-17 and U-19 qualifying competitions. The qualification consists of three rounds. Each round comprises several groups, split into league A and league B, which are played as single-round-robin mini-tournaments, with one team from each group selected as the host after the draw, except in round 3. •
Round 1: All 54 teams, including hosts
Czech Republic, will be split into League A (28 nations) and League B (remaining entrants), the league determined by round 2 of qualifying for the relevant U17 EURO (for 2026/27 U19 EURO, the league will be set by round 2 of 2024/25 U17 EURO). The teams in League A will be split into seven groups of four. The fourth-ranked teams will be relegated to League B for round 2. The teams in League B will be split into seven groups of four or three, depending on the number of participants. The group winners will be promoted to League A for round 2. •
Round 2: The teams in League A will be split into seven groups of four. The fourth-ranked teams will be eliminated. The teams in League B will be split into seven groups of four or three, depending on the number of participants. The group winners will be promoted to League A for round 3, with the remaining teams eliminated. •
Round 3: The format will resemble the current elite round, with 28 teams drawn into seven groups of four. The seven group winners will qualify for the final tournament, joining the hosts.
Tiebreakers In a group, teams are ranked according to
points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 14.01 and 14.02): • Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams •
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams • Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams • If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams is still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams • Goal difference in all group matches • Goals scored in all group matches •
Penalty shoot-out if only two teams have the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and are tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams have the same number of points, or if their rankings are not relevant for qualification for the next stage) • Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for 2 yellow cards in one match = 3 points) • UEFA coefficient ranking for the Qualifying round draw To determine the best third-placed team from the Qualifying round, the results against the teams in fourth place are discarded. The following criteria are applied (Regulations Articles 15.01 and 15.02): • Points • Goal difference • Goals scored • Disciplinary points • UEFA coefficient ranking for the Qualifying round draw == Round 1==