Estonia ready for historic debut in UEFA U-17 European Championship

The UEFA European Under-17 Championship kicks off on Monday, with Estonia set to host the tournament for the first time in history across Tallinn and Rakvere, where the Estonian national team will also make its debut appearance at the competition.

This will only be the second time in Estonian football history that the country hosts a UEFA final tournament. The first came in 2012, when Estonia staged the UEFA U-19 European Championship, suffering defeats against Spain, Greece and Portugal in the group stage. Estonia had originally also been scheduled to host the U-17 tournament in 2020, but that edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, denying the generation born in 2003 the opportunity to play in a home final tournament.

In September 2023, UEFA once again selected Estonia as hosts, this time for the 2026 edition, and now the long-awaited moment has arrived.

The eight-team tournament will be played across four stadiums in Tallinn and Rakvere. Estonia’s group-stage matches and the main fixtures will take place at A. Le Coq Arena, which due to UEFA sponsorship regulations will officially be referred to as Lilleküla Stadium during the tournament. The venue has a capacity of 14,336 spectators. Matches will also be played at JK Tallinna Kalev’s stadium in Tallinn, Kadriorg Stadium and Rakvere Stadium, which will host the only fixtures outside the capital.

Two nations will make their debut appearances at the tournament – Estonia and Montenegro. Montenegro’s U-17 side secured qualification after finishing ahead of Greece, Sweden and Norway in their elite round group. Montenegro will also debut later this year at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

Estonia have been drawn into a difficult Group A alongside three-time European champions Spain, four-time semifinalists Belgium and Croatia, who are participating in the tournament finals for the tenth time. Group B consists of Denmark, France, Italy and Montenegro.

Estonia U-17 head coach Marko Pärnpuu has already selected his 20-man squad for the tournament. The largest representation comes from FC Flora Tallinn, with eight players from the club’s system included in the squad. Two players come from Nõmme United, while Harju JK Laagri, Elva, Pärnu JK Vaprus, Viimsi JK, JK Tallinna Kalev, FC Kuressaare and FCI Levadia each contribute one player.

Three players currently develop abroad – two in Finland, one in Sweden.

The squad includes two players with Estonian Premium Liiga experience. One of the team’s expected leaders is 16-year-old Andero Kaares, who turns 17 at the end of June. The forward is already in his second season as a rotation player for FC Flora Tallinn and has made 42 top-flight appearances, scoring twice. This season he has featured in nine league matches.

Another experienced player is 17-year-old Aston Visse from FC Kuressaare, who has already made 23 Premium Liiga appearances during the last year.

Two players born in 2010, and therefore still eligible for next year’s U-17 cycle, were also included in the squad – Ricardo Kranberg from Nõmme United and Artjom Timakov from the Levadia system.

Estonia open the tournament on Monday at 20:00 local time against Spain at Lilleküla Stadium. Spain’s squad is packed with talents from the country’s biggest clubs, including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF and Atlético Madrid. The only player currently based abroad is goalkeeper Darlington Osuchukwu, who represents Manchester United FC at academy level.

Three days later Estonia will face Croatia. One notable Croatian talent expected to be involved is defender Filip Pavić, who this season made his senior debut for FC Bayern Munich in a UEFA Champions League knockout match against Atalanta. Croatia’s squad mainly consists of players from domestic academies, with the largest representation coming from GNK Dinamo Zagreb and HNK Hajduk Split.

Estonia’s final group-stage match comes on May 31 against Belgium. Every player in Belgium’s squad currently represents clubs within the Belgian league system, including RSC Anderlecht, KAA Gent, KRC Genk and Club Brugge KV. One player to watch is Xander Dierckx from Royal Antwerp FC, who has already made 18 appearances in the Belgian top flight this season.

All matches from the UEFA U-17 European Championship will be streamed live on UEFA TV channel.

Estonian U-17 National team:

Goalkeepers