The UEFA European Under-19 Championship consists of three distinct stages: the qualifying round, the elite round and the final tournament.
Qualifying round
The qualifying round, played in autumn, is made up of 13 groups of four teams playing in one-venue mini-tournaments. The top two from each progress alongside the third-placed team with the best record against the top pair in their group.
Elite round
In the elite round, played in the spring, those 27 qualifiers join the top seed, given a bye, in seven mini-tournament groups of four. The group winners then join the hosts in the finals.
Final tournament
The seven qualifiers plus the…