The 52 participating teams were split into nine groups, seven consisting of six teams and the other two comprising five teams, based on seeding from the UEFA Under-21 coefficient ranking. Teams play each other both home and away over the course of the group stage. The nine group winners advance straight to the final tournament, while the four best runners-up progress to a play-off round in November 2016.
Teams
A total of 52 teams entered the qualification process at this initial stage:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales
Group stage
Group 1
League Table
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 (Q) |
Czech Republic |
10 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
29 |
10 |
+19 |
23
|
2 |
Belgium |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
11 |
+3 |
18
|
3 |
Montenegro |
10 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
13 |
11 |
+2 |
16
|
4 |
Malta |
10 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
20 |
-11 |
11
|
5 |
Latvia |
10 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
13 |
-3 |
9
|
6 |
Moldova |
10 |
2 |
1 |
7 |
8 |
18 |
-10 |
7
|
Group 2
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 (Q) |
Italy |
10 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
17 |
3 |
+14 |
24
|
2 |
Serbia |
10 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
27 |
8 |
+19 |
23
|
3 |
Slovenia |
10 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
18 |
11 |
+7 |
15
|
4 |
Republic of Ireland |
10 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
14 |
17 |
-3 |
12
|
5 |
Lithuania |
10 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
17 |
-12 |
10
|
6 |
Andorra |
10 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
26 |
-25 |
3
|
Group 3
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 (Q) |
Macedonia |
10 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
7 |
+6 |
21
|
2 |
France |
10 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
17 |
8 |
+9 |
20
|
3 |
Iceland |
10 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
9 |
+4 |
18
|
4 |
Ukraine |
10 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
12 |
+2 |
14
|
5 |
Scotland |
10 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
17 |
-9 |
8
|
6 |
Northern Ireland |
10 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
6 |
18 |
-12 |
2
|
Group 4
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 (Q) |
Portugal |
10 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
34 |
5 |
29 |
26
|
2 |
Israel |
10 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
21 |
4 |
+17 |
21
|
3 |
Greece |
10 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
13 |
14 |
-1 |
13
|
4 |
Albania |
10 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
20 |
-9 |
12
|
5 |
Hungary |
10 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
19 |
16 |
+3 |
12
|
6 |
Liechtenstein |
10 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
1 |
40 |
-39 |
0
|
Group 5
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 (Q) |
Denmark |
10 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
24 |
3 |
+21 |
28
|
2 |
Bulgaria |
10 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
+4 |
17
|
3 |
Romania |
10 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
15 |
14 |
+1 |
16
|
4 |
Wales |
10 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
14 |
12 |
+2 |
16
|
5 |
Luxembourg |
10 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
18 |
-13 |
6
|
6 |
Armenia |
10 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
6 |
21 |
-15 |
1
|
Group 6
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 |
Croatia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
2 |
Estonia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
3 |
Georgia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
4 |
San Marino |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
5 |
Spain |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
6 |
Sweden |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Group 7
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 |
Austria |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
2 |
Azerbaijan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
3 |
Faroe Islands |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
4 |
Finland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
5 |
Germany |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
6 |
Russia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Group 8
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 |
Belarus |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
2 |
Cyprus |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
3 |
Netherlands |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
4 |
Slovakia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
5 |
Turkey |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Group 9
League Table
Pos
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
1 (Q) |
England |
8 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
20 |
3 |
+17 |
20
|
2 |
Norway |
8 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
10 |
+2 |
16
|
3 |
Switzerland |
8 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
8 |
+3 |
12
|
4 |
Kazakhstan |
8 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
14 |
-11 |
4
|
5 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
8 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
13 |
-11 |
3
|
Fixtures and Results
Date
|
Home Team
|
Result
|
Away Team
|
Scorers (Home)
|
Scorers (Away)
|
13 June 2015 |
Norway |
2-0 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Elyounoussi, Aursnes |
|
2 September 2015 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
1-2 |
Kazakhstan |
Hajradinovic |
Tuliyev, Aimbetov
|
7 September 2015 |
Norway |
0-1 |
England |
|
Ward-Prowse
|
7 September 2015 |
Kazakhstan |
0-1 |
Switzerland |
|
Tarashaj
|
8 October 2015 |
Norway |
2-1 |
Kazakhstan |
Elyounoussi, Sorloth |
Zhalmukan
|
8 October 2015 |
Switzerland |
3-1 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Tarashaj (2), Tabakovic |
Cerimagic
|
12 October 2015 |
Switzerland |
1-1 |
Norway |
Tabakovic |
Trondsen
|
13 October 2015 |
England |
3-0 |
Kazakhstan |
Loftus-Cheek, Redmond, Akpom |
|
12 November 2015 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
0-0 |
England |
|
|
16 November 2015 |
England |
3-1 |
Switzerland |
Ward-Prowse, Watmore, Akpom |
Tarashaj
|
25 March 2016 |
Kazakhstan |
0-0 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
|
|
26 March 2016 |
Switzerland |
1-1 |
England |
Kamberi |
Akpom
|
2 September 2016 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
0-1 |
Norway |
|
Elyounoussi
|
2 September 2016 |
Switzerland |
3-0 |
Kazakhstan |
Khelifi, Angha, Fernandes |
|
6 September 2016 |
England |
6-1 |
Norway |
Rashford (3), Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Baker |
|
6 September 2016 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
0-0 |
Switzerland |
|
|
6 October 2016 |
Kazakhstan |
0-1 |
England |
|
Gray
|
7 October 2016 |
Norway |
2-1 |
Switzerland |
Zahid, Elyounoussi |
Fernandes
|
11 October 2016 |
Kazakhstan |
0-3 |
Norway |
|
Odegaard (2), Zahid
|
11 October 2016 |
England |
5-0 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Swift, Abraham (2), Onomah, Watmore |
|
Playoff Round