England MU17s discover 2023-24 Under-17 EURO elite round draw

England MU17s have discovered who they will face in the elite round of qualifying for next summer’s UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Thursday morning saw 32 teams split into eight groups of four ahead of the games in March, with 15 countries looking to secure a spot alongside hosts Cyprus for next summer’s finals tournament.

The eight group winners and seven best runners-up from the elite round will qualify for the tournament taking place between May 20 and June 5 2024.

England were the first team to be drawn out so were placed in Group 1, before neighbours Wales were next out in Group 2.

The other teams to join England in Group 1 were France, Hungary and Northern Ireland.

It was decided later in the morning that England would be the group hosts and the dates for the fixtures will be confirmed in due course.

Greg Lincoln’s side booked their place in the elite round after a stunning qualifying round which saw them score 18 goals and only concede one in games against Croatia, Faroe Islands and Kosovo.

2023-24 UEFA Under-17 Championship elite round draw in full

Group 1
England
France
Hungary
Northern Ireland

Group 2
Wales
Bulgaria 
Sweden
Romania

Group 3
Netherlands
Belgium
Finland
Italy

Group 4
Greece
Switzerland
Slovakia 
Ukraine

Group 5
Portugal
Germany
Croatia
Republic of Ireland

Group 6
Türkiye
Serbia
Georgia
Denmark

Group 7
Spain
Austria
Slovenia
Norway

Group 8
Poland
Czechia
Belarus
Bosnia and Herzegovina