European Championship U17 Finals: Draw, Match Dates, Fixtures & Preview

Hosts Hungary will face the Republic of Ireland, Poland and Wales in the group stage of the U17 European Championship Finals next month.

The tournament is also a route to qualification for the U17 World Cup. The four semi-finalists and the winners of a play-off will advance to the finals in Peru later this year.

The U17 Euro Finals will feature some of the top up-and-coming talent on the continent, many of whom will go on to make their mark at senior level.

Most of the leading online betting sites in Ireland will be offering odds on the event, which is sure to garner plenty of interest among football fans.

Read on as we take a closer look at the 2023 U17 Euro Finals, before highlighting some of the possible contenders to lift the trophy.

U17 Euro Finals Draw

The draw for the 2023 U17 Euro Finals is as follows:

• Group A: Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Wales
• Group B: Serbia, Spain, Italy, Slovenia
• Group C: Portugal, France, Scotland, Germany
• Group D: Croatia, Netherlands, Switzerland, England

U17 Euro Finals Match Dates

Here are the match dates for the 2023 U17 Euro Finals:

• Group stage Matchday 1: May 17/18
• Group stage Matchday 2: May 20/21
• Group stage Matchday 3: May 23/24
• Quarter-finals: May 27
• Semi-finals & World Cup play-off: May 30
• Final: June 2

U17 Euro Finals Fixtures

Wednesday, May 17

• Group A – Poland vs Republic of Ireland, Hungary vs Wales 
• Group C – Scotland vs France, Portugal vs Germany

Thursday, May 18

• Group B – Serbia vs Slovenia, Italy vs Spain
• Group D – Switzerland vs Netherlands, Croatia vs England

Saturday, May 20

• Group A – Republic of Ireland vs Wales, Hungary vs Poland
• Group C – Portugal vs Scotland, France vs Germany

Sunday, May 21

• Group B – Spain vs Slovenia, Serbia vs Italy
• Group D – Croatia vs Switzerland, Netherlands vs England

Tuesday, May 23

• Group A – Republic of Ireland vs Hungary, Wales vs Poland 
• Group C – France vs Portugal, Germany vs Scotland 

Wednesday, May 24

• Group B – Spain vs Serbia, Slovenia vs Italy 
• Group D – Netherlands vs Croatia, England vs Switzerland

Saturday, May 27

• Winner Group A vs Runner-up Group B
• Winner Group B vs Runner-up Group A
• Winner Group C vs Runner-up Group D
• Winner Group D vs Runner-up Group C

Tuesday, May 30

The two beaten quarter-finalists with the best group stage record will play-off for Europe’s fifth place at the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup, joining the four semi-finalists.

• SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF3
• SF2: Winner QF2 vs Winner QF4

Friday, June 2

• Final: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

U17 Euro Finals Preview

France and Netherlands contested the final in 2022, with Les Bleus securing a narrow 2-1 victory courtesy of two goals by Sael Kumbedi.

The Dutch had won the previous two editions of this tournament and could be tough to stop in their quest to lift the trophy for the fifth time this century.

England should qualify alongside them from Group D, although the quarter-finals will likely be as far as they progress.

Spain and Italy are generally competitive at U17 level and should have enough about them to reach the quarter-finals.

Hungary will also have their sights set on a place in the last eight having reached that stage of the competition in 2017 and 2019.

However, they have landed in a tough group, with each of their opponents producing some impressive results during the qualification stage.

They will be desperate to win their opening group game against Wales and will hope that home advantage can propel them to a decent run in the tournament.

Portugal could be the biggest threat to the more fancied nations, after reeling off six consecutive wins during qualifying to book their place in Hungary.

They were beaten on penalties by France in the semi-finals last year and will be keen to make amends this time around.