Coach Jiří Žilák’s men defeated Montenegro 4:0 and Albania 6:1 in the basic qualification phase last fall. They lost 0-2 to hosts Portugal, but advanced to the elite stage from second place in the group.
The elite phase of the qualification was organized by Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the domestic selection, the Czech youngsters also played against Belarus and Poland. The Czech footballers defeated Belarus and Bosnia and, despite the loss in the final match against Poland, advanced from second place to the final tournament. It will take place in Cyprus from May 20 to June 5.
The Czech team got to see the beginning of the drawing process, when it was drawn as the first team of all in group A, where Cyprus was already waiting as the organizer. During the next draw, Ukraine and Serbia were added to Group A.
The Czechs will start the championship on Monday, May 20 against the home team in Larnaca. The second match will take place in Paralimni on Thursday, May 23, and the Czechs will challenge Ukraine.
In the last match of the group, they will face Serbia again in Larnaca on Sunday, May 26. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. They are played on Wednesday and Thursday, May 29 and 30. The semi-finals are played on Sunday 2 June and the final on Wednesday 5 June.
“The draw is the part that is not in our power and we cannot influence it in the same way that we can certainly influence the preparation for the European Championship itself and the preparation for the matches themselves. We avoided giants like Spain, Portugal, England or France. All these teams are in Group D, but it is worth mentioning that Ukraine advanced from the elite stage with nine points. Serbia already presented itself in the U16 category with interesting results, and Cyprus will certainly have the advantage not only of the home environment, but also in acclimatization to the local conditions, which are atypical for us.” said coach Jiří Žilák shortly after the draw.
“We are definitely looking forward to the championships, it will be an interesting experience and our goals are to advance from the group and get to the medal fights,” said coach Žilák.
The draw has brought together the four big favorites of all finals tournaments in Group D as France, Portugal, Spain and England square off in this group.
| Draw for the 2024 European Under-17 Championship in Cyprus (20/05 – 05/06/2024) |
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Cyprus | Denmark | Italy | France |
| Ukraine | Austria | Sweden | Portugal |
| Serbia | Croatia | Slovakia | Spain |
| Czechia | Wales | Poland | England |
WITH Cyprus the Czech team has a balance of three wins and one draw, while the last time the two teams met was in 2019, when the Czechs won 5:2. Back then, Kryštof Daněk, Jáchym Šíp or Filip Vecheta scored goals, and Martin Vitík also played in the match.
WITH Ukraine the Czech team has a balanced record, as four of the seven matches ended in a draw and the score from these matches is 9:9. The last time the two teams met was in March 2018 as part of the elite qualifying phase.
Se Serbia the Czech team played significantly more times – a total of 16 matches, including the one at Euro 2006, when the Czechs won 2:1 in Dudelange thanks to two goals from Tomáš Necid. In sixteen matches, however, Serbia has won eight, the Czechs only five, and the match ended in a draw three times.
The first two teams from all four groups qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament. The final championship will be played in six different stadiums: Dasaki Achnas Stadium, Dasaki; Ammochostos Epistrofi Stadium, Larnaca; Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca; AEK Arena, Larnaca; Limassol Stadium, Limassol; Paralimni Municipal Stadium Tasos Markou, Paralimni.
In 2023, the U17 European Championship was won by Germany, which defeated France in the final in Hungary. However, the Germans did not advance to this year’s championship, as Portugal and Croatia succeeded from their group in the elite phase of the qualification.
Among the qualified teams for the final championship, the following countries are the most successful: France and Spain (3x winners), Portugal (2x) and England (1x).
This championship is the last tournament for players under the age of 17, in which 16 teams will start. From the next year, the format changes and the tournament in 2025 in Albania will be for only eight teams, as the number of teams in the final tournament and the qualification system are changing.
