Malta U-19 girls to face Israel, Romania and Georgia in qualifiers

The Malta U-19’s women’s team will face Israel, Romania and Georgia in Group B4 of the 2021/2022 European Championship First Round, scheduled to be played between September 14 and 21 or October 19 and 26.

The new format replaces the old qualifying and elite rounds, still featuring one-venue mini-tournaments but now including two leagues with promotion and relegation leading to the 2022 finals in Czech Republic.

Malta is part of the 24-team League B due to its Women’s U-19’s coefficient rankings used by UEFA for this draw. League B comprises six groups four whereas seven groups make up League A. Round 1 will decide which teams are promoted and relegated ahead of Round 2, pencilled for 2022.

The six League B group winners alongside the best runner-up will go up into League A while the seven teams that finish bottom of their groups in League A will be relegated. The seven League A group winners will advance to the final tournament while at the same time there will be promotion and relegation between the leagues ahead of the 2022/2023 Round 1.

A record 52 teams will be involved in these UEFA Nations Leaguge-style U-19’s European Championships. The competition returns after the cancellation of the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 editions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Maltese team will be led by coach Frank Schembri who recently served as assistant coach to Mark Gatt with the senior team. Rosalie Borg will be Schembri’s assistant. The Kirkop United player was the first female coach to obtain the UEFA ‘A’ coaching licence in Malta in 2019.

LEAGUE A

Group 1 – Netherlands, Scotland, Austria, Ukraine
Group 2 – France, Sweden, Iceland, Serbia
Group 3 – Germany, Belgium, Russia, Slovenia
Group 4 – Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Turkey
Group 5 – Switzerland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland
Group 6 – Spain, Czech Republic, Portugal, Slovakia
Group 7 – Norway, Italy, Poland, Azerbaijan

LEAGUE B

Group 1 – Belarus, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Cyprus
Group 2 – Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Kazakhstan
Group 3 – Wales, Albania, Moldova, Andorra
Group 4 – Israel, Romania, Georgia, Malta
Group 5 – Croatia, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein
Group 6 – Bosnia, Montenegro, Estonia, Armenia