The Malta Under-19 team has been drawn against England, Slovenia and Wales in Group 10 of the 2020/21 UEFA European U-19 Championship qualifying round.

The Maltese team was in Pot D together with Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Kazakhstan, Andorra, Luxembourg, Moldova, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Gibraltar and San Marino. The 52 teams in the qualifying round have been split into 13 groups of four.

The draw, held at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters on Tuesday, was conducted by Arsen Yeghiazaryan, captain of last season’s Armenia team, who was presented with the Respect Fair Play trophy on behalf of the squad from UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis.

The top two teams in each group and the third-placed side with the best record against the leading pair in their section join top seeds Portugal in the elite round in spring 2021, which will produce Romania’s seven finals opponents.

Hosts Romania qualify directly for the final tournament in summer 2021.

2020/21 UEFA U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP

The draw of the 2020/21 UEFA European Championship qualifying round was also made on Tuesday, marking the start of the journey to the finals in Cyprus.

The Malta U-17 team will face Germany, Poland and North Macedonia in Group 11 with the group matches to be played in autumn 2020.

Marton Dardai, captain of Germany at the 2019 finals, received the Respect Fair Play trophy on behalf of his team from UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis. Dardai presided over the draw which involved 52 teams.

Malta were in Pot D for the draw along with Lithuania, Albania, Estonia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Luxembourg, San Marino and Gibraltar.

Hosts Cyprus qualify automatically for the final tournament in May 2021 while top seeds the Netherlands and Spain enter the fray in the elite round.