The 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the ninth UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted in France between 15 and 20 April 1994.

The qualification stage spanned two years from 1992 to 1994. The qualification process consisted of 32 entrants. After the two-legged quarter-final stage, France was chosen as the first hosts of the final stage, which consisted of four matches in total. The finals included for the first time a third-place play-off.

Italy won the competition for the second consecutive time. Luís Figo won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden player award.

Qualification

The draw for the 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying round saw Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Poland, Russia and Spain win their respective groups. Greece and Portugal qualified for the tournament as the two best runners-up. France, Italy, Portugal and Spain qualified for the 1996 Summer Olympics in the United States.

This was the last performance of Czechoslovakia, as the nation actually have split.

List of qualified teams

CountryQualified asPrevious appearances in tournament1 2
ItalyGroup 1 winner8 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992)
PolandGroup 2 winner4 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1992)
SpainGroup 3 winner5 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990)
CzechoslovakiaGroup 4 winner5 (1978, 1980, 1988, 1990, 1992)
RussiaGroup 5 winner0 (debut)
FranceGroup 6 winner4 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988)
GreeceBest runner-up1 (1988)
PortugalSecond best runner-up0 (debut)

1 Bold indicates champion for that year

Squads

Only players born on or after 1 January 1971 were eligible to play in the tournament.

Results

Quarter-finals

The first legs were played on 9 March, and the second legs were played on 23 March 1994.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
France France3–0Russia Russia2–01–0
Italy Italy3–1Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia3–00–1
Poland Poland1–5Portugal Portugal1–30–2
Spain Spain4–2Greece Greece0–04–2

First leg

France France2–0Russia Russia
Llacer 23' Ouédec 82'
Italy Italy3–0Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia
Vieri 7' Panucci 9' Negro 79'
Poland Poland1–3Portugal Portugal
Dąbrowski 40'J. Pinto 70', 79' Rui Costa 85'
Spain Spain0–0Greece Greece

Second leg

Russia Russia0–1France France
Dugarry 31'
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia1–0Italy Italy
Svoboda 89'
Portugal Portugal2–0Poland Poland
Toni 50' Torres 90'
Greece Greece2–4Spain Spain
Georgatos 7' Prieto 85' (o.g.)Christiansen 46', 51' Guerrero 68' Gálvez 79'

Semi-finals

France0–0 (a.e.t.)Italy
Penalties
Carotti Ouédec Makélélé Zidane3–5Panucci Vieri Berretta Marcolin Carbone
Portugal2–0Spain
Rui Costa 48' João Pinto 82'

Third-place play-off

France1–2Spain
Nouma 45'Óscar 53', 75'

Final

Italy1–0 (a.e.t.)Portugal
Orlandini 97'

Goalscorers

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Own goal

Final ranking

RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1Italy421141+37
2Portugal430171+69
3Spain421165+17
4France421142+27
5Greece211024−24
6Czechoslovakia210113−33
7Poland200215−40
8Russia200203−30

External links

  • at uefa.com
  • at rsssf.com