Youth League, Köln vs Inter LIVE on Inter TV

Almost two months after the end of the league phase, the UEFA Youth League – Europe’s greatest youth competition – returns. Inter U20s, coached by Benito Carbone, rounded off the first phase of their campaign with an emphatic 5–0 win over Liverpool, a result that saw the young Nerazzurri finish the league phase on 11 points in 14th place, securing qualification for the Round of 32.

The top 22 teams in the standings progressed to the knockout stage: clubs ranked from first to sixth were paired with those finishing between 17th and 22nd, while teams placed from seventh to 16th were drawn against the ten sides that qualified via the domestic champions path. Under this system, Inter were drawn against Köln, the reigning Germany U19 champions.

The Round of 32 will be played as a single-elimination fixture: any match level after 90 minutes will go straight to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner. Seeded teams for the draw included those finishing between first and sixth in the Champions League path, along with the ten sides from the domestic champions path. As a result, Inter will face Köln away from home.

The match will be played at the Stadion Köln, the main stadium in the German city and home of the Bundesliga first team. Kick off is scheduled for 18:00 CET on Wednesday 4 February.

The fixture between Köln and Inter will be broadcast live via streaming on inter.it, the official Inter app, and Inter TV.

ROUND OF 32

Tuesday 3 February

AZ Alkmaar (NED) vs Borussia Dortmund (GER) Club Brugge KV (BEL) vs AS Monaco (FRA) Real Madrid C.F. (ESP) vs Olympique de Marseille (FRA) MŠK Žilina (SVK) vs Liverpool FC (ENG) Chelsea FC (ENG) vs PSV Eindhoven (NED) Athletic Club (ESP) vs Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)

Wednesday 4 February

FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) vs Atlético Madrid (ESP) Legia Warszawa (POL) vs AFC Ajax (NED) Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) vs FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR) SL Benfica (POR) vs SK Slavia Praha (CZE) Villarreal CF (ESP) vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) HJK Helsinki (FIN) vs Manchester City (ENG) Puskás Akadémia FC (HUN) vs Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) vs FC Barcelona (ESP) FC Köln (GER) vs FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) Real Betis Balompié (ESP) vs Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

THE PRIMAVERA’S CURRENT FORM

Inter Primavera head into the match on the back of a 2-1 league win over Cremonese. The victory ended a three-game wait for success: 2026 has not started smoothly for Benito Carbone’s side, who have recorded two wins, one draw and three defeats in the league since January, in addition to a penalty shoot-out victory over Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia Round of 16. In the Primavera league standings, Inter sit fourth on 37 points, three behind leaders Roma, with Parma and Fiorentina in between on 39.

THE OPPONENT | FC KÖLN

FC Köln have already set several milestones in this season’s UEFA Youth League. The German side have reached the Round of 32 for the first time in their history, advancing via the Domestic Champions Path after eliminating Racing Union Luxembourg and Denmark’s Midtjylland. The latter had qualified through the Domestic Champions Path on seven occasions – a competition record – and had never previously been knocked out at this stage before the current campaign. By contrast, Köln had never progressed beyond a single Youth League round until now. In Europe this season, the Germans have recorded three wins and one draw to date: 3–0 and 2–1 victories over Racing Union, a 1–1 draw at home against Midtjylland, and a convincing 4–1 away win in Denmark that secured qualification for the round of 32. The team’s leading goalscorer is Fynn Schenten, a 2007-born forward who has bagged five goals in four appearances. The head coach is Stefan Ruthenbeck, in charge since 2018, who also led Köln’s first team for 22 matches across the Bundesliga, Europa League and DFB-Pokal during the 2017/18 season.

FC KÖLN vs INTER: WHERE TO WATCH

FC Köln vs Inter in the UEFA Youth League Round of 32 will be played on Wednesday 4 February at 18:00 CET. The match will be streamed live on inter.it, on the official Inter app and on Inter TV.