England have learned their draw for the UEFA u19 Euro elite round in March, with a trio of Arsenal players in strong contention for involvement.
The England u19s will play in the elite round of u19 European Championship qualifiers in March, and the draw for that final stage of qualification was confirmed this week.
England have been drawn in a tough group containing Portugal, Poland, and Serbia, with only the group winner progressing to the u19 Euro 2026 finals next summer.
Three Arsenal players will be hoping to help England through to the final tournament, with Max Dowman, Jack Porter, and Khari Ranson all having featured for the u19s already this season.
More specifically, Dowman and Ranson both played in the previous round of qualifiers for next summer’s tournament in November.
Dowman started all three games, winning a penalty against Lithuania and assisting a goal against Latvia on the way to England’s 100% record (three wins, 13 goals scored, zero conceded). Ranson started and kept clean sheets in the games against Latvia and Scotland.
Porter didn’t feature in that round of qualifiers, but he did make his u19 debut back in September. His subsequent drop down to the u17s in November can be explained by England’s participation in the u17 World Cup, and it’s likely he’ll now step back up.
Though if Porter does jump back to the u19s, that means he’ll be competing with club teammate Ranson for a starting place, as both are goalkeepers.
If he hopes to play for England in March, Dowman will have to get fit first, but he’s only expected to be out injured until February. If anything, it looks like the qualifiers should come at a nice time to help him with staying sharp after his absence.
The full draw for the elite round of qualifiers is as follows:
- Group 1: Germany, Austria, Greece, Sweden
- Group 2: England, Portugal, Poland, Serbia
- Group 3: Croatia, France, Norway, Switzerland
- Group 4: Czechia, Denmark, Belgium, Latvia
- Group 5: Ukraine, Romania, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland
- Group 6: Italy, Türki̇ye, Slovakia, Hungary
- Group 7: Spain, Netherlands, Finland, Slovenia