Ireland Men’s Under-17s will begin their international season with a double header against Denmark in Spain next week before heading to Northern Ireland in October for the Under-17 EURO Qualifiers.

Colin O’Brien’s team will take on the Danes on Thursday, September 5 and Sunday, September 8 in Pinatar. And report back for duty in October for three games in the North for Round 1 of the EURO Qualifiers. They’ll take on Lithuania, Northern Ireland  and Scotland.

Speaking ahead of the upcoming season, MU17 Head Coach Colin O’Brien said: “It’s good to start our season with highly competitive opposition. Whatever age group you play Denmark you know they will be a top quality team and we’re looking forward to the two matches.

“The games will be an opportunity for the players in the group to stake a claim to be involved in the qualifiers in October and so there’s a lot for them to play for.

“We’ve been working towards these games for a while. Last month we had a training camp and have been monitoring the domestic based players as well as having eyes on our players playing overseas. It sets us up for next week and know players & staff are looking forward to it.”

This year there will be a change to qualification for the U17 EUROs in Albania with a UEFA Nations League styled format. 

On completion of Round 1, all the participating teams will be divided into League A (28 teams – seven groups of four teams) and League B (26 teams – five groups of four teams and two groups of three teams) for Round 2.

The top two teams in each of the 14 Round 1 groups will qualify for League A in Round 2, to compete in spring for the seven places alongside hosts Albania in the finals. 

 Teams in League B will compete for promotion to League A for qualifying Round 1 of the 2026/27 U19 EURO.
 

Ireland Men’s Under-17s international Fixtures

International Friendlies

Thursday, September 5 | Ireland MU17 v Denmark MU17, Pinatar Arena, Spain, KO 7pm (Irish time)
Sunday, September 8 | Ireland MU17 v Denmark MU17, Pinatar Arena, Spain, KO 10am (Irish time)

UEFA European Under-17 Championship Round One qualifiers

Tuesday, October 29 | Ireland MU17 v Lithuania MU17, (venue and kick-off TBC), Northern Ireland
Friday, November 1 | Ireland MU17 v Northern Ireland MU17, (venue and kick-off TBC), Northern Ireland
Monday, November 4 | Scotland MU17 v Ireland MU17, (venue and kick-off TBC), Northern Ireland