The youth national team of Bulgaria up to 19 years has been placed in a group with France, Hungary and the Faroe Islands in the European qualifiers for the championship in 2026, which will be held in Wales. The French are three times European champions at this age in the current format of the championship, most recently in 2016.
The Bulgarian boys, born in 2007, are in group 2 of the first round, from where the first two teams continue to the second Elite stage, as well as the best third team from all 13 qualifying groups. It is not yet clear which of the four countries in the group will host, but the matches will be played in the autumn of 2025. There are three options – FIFA windows in September, October or November.
In the case of juniors (younger age) or those born in 2009, Bulgaria fell into group 10. There, the rivals of the young lions are Switzerland, Slovakia and San Marino. As with the older ones, here too the home team will be determined at a later stage, and the matches in the first round of this age group should take place between July 1 and November 30, 2025.
At this age, the qualifiers will change to the League of Nations format. The top two teams from each of the 14 groups proceed to the second round of the so-called League A, and the remaining two teams from each group go to the second round of League B. In the second stage of League A, the teams will play for seven places in the final tournament, and in both rounds of screenings, the hosts of the championship from Estonia, who have a place there anyway, will be included. Teams from League B will play in a play-off system for promotion to League A for when they will be 19 years old in two years.