The 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship qualifying round was the first round of qualifications for the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, which was held in Slovakia.^[1]

As the host nation, Slovakia qualified automatically for the tournament. The remaining 52 UEFA members were divided into 13 groups of four teams, with each group being contested as a mini-tournament, hosted by one of the group's teams. After all matches have been played, the 13 group winners, 13 group runners-up and the two best third-placed teams advanced to the elite round. The draw for the qualifying round was held on 29 November 2011 in Nyon, with matches set to take place in autumn 2012.^[1]

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.^[2]

1. Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question
2. Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question
3. Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question
4. If, after applying criteria 1) to 3) to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, the criteria 1) to 3) will be reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5) and 6) will apply
5. Results of all group matches:
   1. Superior goal difference
   2. Higher number of goals scored
6. Drawing of lots

Additionally, if two teams which have the same number of points and the same number of goals scored and conceded play their last group match against each other and are still equal at the end of that match, their final rankings are determined by the penalty shoot-out and not by the criteria listed above. This procedure is applicable only if a ranking of the teams is required to determine the group winner or the runners-up and the third-placed team.

The three-way tie-breaker left Spain on third place, and Poland ranked first.^[3]

More information Pos, Team ...

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Poland	3	2	0	1	3	2	+1	6	Elite round
2	Bulgaria (H)	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
3	Spain	3	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6
4	Azerbaijan	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0

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More information Poland, 2–1 ...

Poland	2–1	Bulgaria
Tomasiewicz 16' Stolarski 80+2'	Report	Aytov 31'

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More information Spain, 2–0 ...

Spain	2–0	Azerbaijan
Pozo 17' García 53'	Report

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More information Azerbaijan, 0–1 ...

Azerbaijan	0–1	Poland
	Report	Stolarski 41'

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More information Spain, 0–1 ...

Spain	0–1	Bulgaria
	Report	Ivaylov 40+2'

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More information Poland, 0–1 ...

Poland	0–1	Spain
	Report	Chirivella 68' (pen.)

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More information Bulgaria, 4–1 ...

Bulgaria	4–1	Azerbaijan
Despodov 3', 50' Alekov 28', 71'	Report	Khakimov 67'

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More information Pos, Team ...

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	3	3	0	0	6	2	+4	9	Elite round
2	Northern Ireland	3	1	1	1	7	4	+3	4
3	Estonia (H)	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
4	Wales	3	0	0	3	1	8	−7	0

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More information Northern Ireland, 4–0 ...

Northern Ireland	4–0	Wales
Mullan 9' Doherty 11' McDonagh 16' (pen.), 28' (pen.)	Report

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More information England, 2–0 ...

England	2–0	Estonia
Green 56' Collier 73'	Report

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More information England, 1–0 ...

England	1–0	Wales
Bryan 35'	Report

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More information Estonia, 1–1 ...

Estonia	1–1	Northern Ireland
Liivak 18'	Report	Lavery 21'

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More information Northern Ireland, 2–3 ...

Northern Ireland	2–3	England
McDonagh 18', 71'	Report	Loftus-Cheek 39' Morris 55' (pen.), 66'

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More information Wales, 1–3* ...

Wales	1–3*	Estonia
Clarke 16'	Report	Sinisalu 40' Jakovlev 46' Kuusk 71'

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^* On 26 October 2012, the match between Wales and Estonia played at Sportland Arena in Tallinn was abandoned after twenty-six minutes due to heavy snow. Wales were leading 1–0. The remaining 54 minutes were replayed on 14 November 2012 in Tallinn with exactly the same team selection as in the original match.^[4]

To determine the two best third-ranked teams from the qualifying round, only the results of the third-placed team against the winners and runners-up in each group are taken into account.

Tiebreakers

The following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.^[2]

1. Higher number of points obtained in these matches
2. Superior goal difference from these matches
3. Higher number of goals scored in these matches
4. Fair play conduct of the teams in all group matches in the qualifying round
5. Drawing of lots

More information Pos, Grp ...

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	4	Spain	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3	Elite round
2	7	Estonia	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	1
3	13	Scotland	2	0	1	1	0	3	−3	1
4	6	Cyprus	2	0	1	1	1	5	−4	1
5	8	Albania	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2	0
6	12	Turkey	2	0	0	2	5	8	−3	0
7	10	Romania	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0
8	5	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0
9	9	Iceland	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	0
10	11	Denmark	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0
11	1	Moldova	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0
12	3	Latvia	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6	0
13	2	San Marino	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10	0

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Source: ^{[citation needed]}