The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Italy in the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament (the other co-hosts San Marino would not qualify automatically).

Apart from Italy, all remaining 54 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition, with Gibraltar and Kosovo making their debuts. Players born on or after 1 January 1996 are eligible to participate.

Format

The qualifying competition consists of two rounds:

  • Qualifying group stage: The 54 teams are drawn into nine groups of six teams. Each group is played in home-and-away round-robin format. The nine group winners qualify directly for the final tournament, while the four best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) advance to the play-offs.
  • Play-offs: The four teams are drawn into two ties to play home-and-away two-legged matches to determine the last two qualified teams.

Tiebreakers

In the qualifying group stage, teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 14.01):

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  10. UEFA coefficient for the qualifying group stage draw.

To determine the four best runners-up from the qualifying group stage, the results against the teams in sixth place are discarded. The following criteria are applied (Regulations Article 14.02):

  1. Points;
  2. Goal difference;
  3. Goals scored;
  4. Away goals scored;
  5. Disciplinary points;
  6. UEFA coefficient for the qualifying group stage draw.

In the play-offs, the team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs qualifies for the final tournament. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e., the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e., if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 19.01).

Schedule

The qualifying matches are played on dates that fall within the FIFA International Match Calendar.

StageFIFA International Dates
Qualifying group stage20–28 March 2017
5–13 June 2017
28 August – 5 September 2017
2–10 October 2017
6–14 November 2017
19–27 March 2018
3–11 September 2018
8–16 October 2018
Play-offs12–20 November 2018

Qualifying group stage

Draw

The draw for the qualifying group stage was held on 26 January 2017, 09:00 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The teams were seeded according to their coefficient ranking, calculated based on the following:

Each group contained one team from each of Pots A–F. For political reasons, Spain and Gibraltar, Serbia and Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo would not be drawn in the same group.

Final tournament hosts
TeamCoeffRank
Italy35,5466
Teams entering qualifying group stage
TeamCoeffRank
Pot A Team Coeff Rank Germany 39,037 1 Portugal 38,378 2 England 36,621 3 Spain 36,536 4 Denmark 35,590 5 France 34,262 7 Sweden 34,259 8 Czech Republic 33,690 9 Serbia 31,060 10Pot B Team Coeff Rank Slovakia 31,057 11 Israel 30,786 12 Netherlands 29,817 13 Austria 29,406 14 Croatia 28,239 15 Belgium 28,237 16 Poland 28,102 17 Switzerland 27,882 18 Slovenia 27,372 19Pot C Team Coeff Rank Ukraine 27,372 20 Norway 26,830 21 Russia 26,414 22 Turkey 25,927 23 Romania 25,859 24 Iceland 25,679 25 Greece 25,522 26 Montenegro 24,791 27 Finland 24,581 28
Germany39,0371
Portugal38,3782
England36,6213
Spain36,5364
Denmark35,5905
France34,2627
Sweden34,2598
Czech Republic33,6909
Serbia31,06010
TeamCoeffRank
Slovakia31,05711
Israel30,78612
Netherlands29,81713
Austria29,40614
Croatia28,23915
Belgium28,23716
Poland28,10217
Switzerland27,88218
Slovenia27,37219
TeamCoeffRank
Ukraine27,37220
Norway26,83021
Russia26,41422
Turkey25,92723
Romania25,85924
Iceland25,67925
Greece25,52226
Montenegro24,79127
Finland24,58128
Pot D Team Coeff Rank Wales 23,683 29 Bulgaria 23,309 30 Macedonia 23,283 31 Georgia 22,402 32 Hungary 22,349 33 Republic of Ireland 22,004 34 Scotland 21,784 35 Moldova 20,696 36 Albania 18,584 37Pot E Team Coeff Rank Lithuania 18,411 38 Azerbaijan 18,331 39 Armenia 18,126 40 Bosnia and Herzegovina 18,056 41 Belarus 17,741 42 Kazakhstan 16,826 43 Cyprus 16,636 44 Latvia 16,516 45 Estonia 14,498 46Pot F Team Coeff Rank Malta 14,331 47 Luxembourg 12,878 48 Northern Ireland 12,611 49 Faroe Islands 12,113 50 San Marino 10,740 51 Andorra 10,045 52 Liechtenstein 8,058 53 Gibraltar 0 54 Kosovo 0 55
TeamCoeffRank
Wales23,68329
Bulgaria23,30930
Macedonia23,28331
Georgia22,40232
Hungary22,34933
Republic of Ireland22,00434
Scotland21,78435
Moldova20,69636
Albania18,58437
TeamCoeffRank
Lithuania18,41138
Azerbaijan18,33139
Armenia18,12640
Bosnia and Herzegovina18,05641
Belarus17,74142
Kazakhstan16,82643
Cyprus16,63644
Latvia16,51645
Estonia14,49846
TeamCoeffRank
Malta14,33147
Luxembourg12,87848
Northern Ireland12,61149
Faroe Islands12,11350
San Marino10,74051
Andorra10,04552
Liechtenstein8,05853
Gibraltar054
Kosovo055

Notes

  • Teams marked in bold qualified for the final tournament.

Groups

Group 1

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Croatia10811315+2625Final tournament—2–05–12–14–05–0
2Greece10811265+2125Play-offs1–1—3–02–05–14–0
3Czech Republic105141415−1162–11–2—1–11–03–1
4Belarus104241114−3140–40–21–0—3–11–0
5Moldova10217823−1570–30–21–32–2—1–0
6San Marino100010129−2800–40–50–20–20–2—

Group 2

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Spain109013110+2127Final tournament—1–25–11–03–03–1
2Northern Ireland106221511+4203–5—1–00–01–04–2
3Slovakia106041718−1181–41–0—0–24–12–0
4Iceland103251619−3112–70–12–3—2–35–2
5Albania10145917−870–11–12–30–0—0–0
6Estonia100281124−1320–11–21–22–32–2—

Group 3

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Denmark10721308+2223Final tournament—1–15–22–06–03–0
2Poland10640229+1322Play-offs3–1—3–03–31–01–1
3Georgia103341119−8122–20–3—2–21–01–0
4Finland102351321−890–51–31–2—0–21–1
5Lithuania10226716−980–20–20–00–2—3–0
6Faroe Islands101451020−1070–32–23–11–32–2—

Group 4

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1England10820234+1926Final tournament—0–02–13–13–07–0
2Netherlands10532216+15181–1—3–01–23–08–0
3Ukraine105231812+6170–21–1—3–13–21–0
4Scotland1042413130140–22–00–2—1–13–0
5Latvia10046518−1341–20–31–10–2—0–0
6Andorra10037128−2730–10–10–61–10–0—

Group 5

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Germany10811337+2625Final tournament—2–12–03–01–06–1
2Norway104331513+2153–1—2–10–00–31–1
3Republic of Ireland104241215−3140–60–0—4–01–01–0
4Israel104241718−1142–51–33–1—3–03–1
5Kosovo10334912−3120–03–21–10–4—2–0
6Azerbaijan10037627−2130–71–31–31–10–0—

Group 6

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Belgium10820235+1826Final tournament—1–10–03–03–22–1
2Sweden10622198+11200–3—0–11–04–13–0
3Turkey105231410+4171–20–3—0–04–04–2
4Hungary103251214−2110–32–21–2—4–02–1
5Cyprus10217823−1570–20–12–10–2—2–1
6Malta10118824−1640–40–40–12–11–1—

Group 7

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Serbia10820235+1826Final tournament—0–03–20–02–14–0
2Austria10712257+1822Play-offs1–3—3–22–12–03–0
3Russia106132513+12191–21–0—0–05–13–0
4Armenia10235916−790–10–51–2—0–31–0
5Macedonia102171724−770–20–43–43–3—6–1
6Gibraltar10109236−3430–60–50–50–31–0—

Group 8

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Romania10730194+1524Final tournament—1–12–02–01–14–0
2Portugal107123311+2222Play-offs1–2—4–22–02–17–0
3Bosnia and Herzegovina106042411+13181–33–1—1–03–06–0
4Wales104151114−3130–00–20–4—3–12–1
5Switzerland103161118−7100–22–41–00–3—3–0
6Liechtenstein100010242−4000–20–90–41–30–2—

Group 9

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1France10910246+1828Final tournament—1–12–14–13–02–0
2Slovenia104421412+2161–3—2–02–11–13–1
3Montenegro1032515150110–21–3—5–10–03–0
4Kazakhstan102441318−5100–30–01–1—1–13–0
5Bulgaria102441011−1100–13–03–12–2—0–1
6Luxembourg10217721−1472–31–11–30–31–0—

Ranking of second-placed teams

To determine the four best second-placed teams from the qualifying group stage which advance to the play-offs, only the results of the second-placed teams against the first, third, fourth and fifth-placed teams in their group are taken into account, while results against the sixth-placed team are not included. As a result, eight matches played by each second-placed team will count for the purposes of determining the ranking.

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
13Poland8620196+1320Play-offs
21Greece8611175+1219
37Austria8512177+1016
48Portugal85121711+616
56Sweden8422128+414
62Northern Ireland842298+114
74Netherlands8332126+612
89Slovenia83321010012
95Norway83231111011

Play-offs

Draw

The draw for the play-offs was held on 19 October 2018, 13:00 CEST, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The four teams were drawn into two ties of home-and-away two-legged format.

Matches

The two play-off winners qualify for the final tournament.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Greece0–2Austria0–10–1
Poland3–2Portugal0–13–1

Qualified teams

The following 12 teams qualify for the final tournament.

TeamQualified asQualified onPrevious appearances in Under-21 Euro1 only U-21 era (since 1978)
ItalyHosts9 December 201619 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017)
CroatiaGroup 1 winners15 October 20182 (2000, 2004)
SpainGroup 2 winners6 September 201813 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017)
DenmarkGroup 3 winners16 October 20187 (1978, 1986, 1992, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2017)
EnglandGroup 4 winners11 October 201814 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
GermanyGroup 5 winners12 October 201811 (19822, 19902, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017)
BelgiumGroup 6 winners16 October 20182 (2002, 2007)
SerbiaGroup 7 winners12 October 201810 (19783, 19803, 19843, 19903, 20044, 20064, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017)
RomaniaGroup 8 winners16 October 20181 (1998)
FranceGroup 9 winners7 September 20188 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2006)
AustriaPlay-off winners20 November 20180 (debut)
PolandPlay-off winners20 November 20186 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1994, 2017)

1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

2 As West Germany

3 As Yugoslavia

4 As Serbia and Montenegro

Top goalscorers

11 goals

8 goals

7 goals

Source: UEFA.com

For full lists of goalscorers, see sections in each group:

  • Group 1
  • Group 2
  • Group 3
  • Group 4
  • Group 5
  • Group 6
  • Group 7
  • Group 8
  • Group 9
  • Play-offs

External links