The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the competition also serves as the UEFA qualification tournament for the Summer Olympics.

Italy and Spain are the most successful teams in the tournament's history, having won five titles each. England are the current champions, having beaten Germany 3–2 after extra time in the 2025 final.

History

Trophy of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship

The competition in its current form has existed since 1978. It was preceded by the Under-23 Challenge Cup, which ran from 1967 to 1970. Bulgaria won the inaugural Challenge Cup in 1967, defeating East Germany 3–2. As defending champions, they faced randomly drawn "challengers" for a single match in Bulgaria. They retained the title three times, twice more in 1967 and once in 1968. By the final edition in 1970, only Bulgaria and Yugoslavia had won the competition.

A proper under-23 championship was then established, starting in 1972. It was held three times in the same format; the eight group winners contested the quarter-finals on a home-and-away basis. The semi-finals and final were also held over two legs. To overcome calendar issues, the qualifying groups were the same as the qualifying groups for the senior World Cup or European Championship, and the matches were played on the same day or weekend. This has changed starting with the 2006 edition, when a separate draw was held for the first time to form the qualifying groups.

At the UEFA conference in January 1976, the age limit was lowered to 21 for the 1978 tournament, and has remained so ever since. The rules at the time allowed each team to field two players over the age of 21. To be eligible for the campaign ending in 2027, players must be born in 2004 or later. Many may actually be 23 years old by the time of the final tournament; however, when the qualification process began (2025), all players would have been 21 or under.

In 1992, the Under-21 Championship became the European qualifying competition for the Olympic football tournament.

The tournament's record attendance was set during the knockout stage of the 2023 edition, when 44,338 spectators gathered for the match between hosts Georgia and Israel.

Format

Up to and including the 1992 competition, all entrants were divided into eight qualification groups, the eight winners of which formed the quarter-finals line-up. The remaining fixtures were played out on a two-legged, home and away basis to determine the eventual winner.

For the 1994 competition, one of the semi-finalists, France, was chosen as a host for the (single-legged) semi-finals, third-place play-off and final. Similarly, Spain was chosen to host the last four matches in 1996.

For 1998, nine qualification groups were used, as participation had reached 46, nearly double the 24 entrants in 1976. The top seven group winners qualified automatically for the finals, whilst the eighth- and ninth-best qualifiers, Greece and England, played-off for the final spot. The remaining matches, from the quarter-finals onward, were held in Romania, one of the eight qualifiers.

The 2000 competition also had nine groups, but the nine winners and seven runners-up went into a two-legged play-off to decide the eight qualifiers. From those, Slovakia was chosen as host. For the first time, the familiar finals group stage was employed, with the two winners contesting a final, and two runners-up contesting the third-place play-off. The structure in 2002 was identical, except for the introduction of a semi-finals round after the finals group stage. Switzerland hosted the 2002 finals.

In 2004, ten qualification groups were used, with the group winners and six best runners-up going into the play-off. Germany was host that year. For 2006, the top two teams of eight large qualification groups provided the 16 teams for the play-offs, held in November 2005. Portugal hosted the finals.

Then followed the switch to odd years. The change was made because the senior teams of many nations often chose to promote players from their under-21s team as their own qualification campaign intensified. Staggering the tournaments allowed players more time to develop in the under-21 team rather than get promoted too early and end up becoming reserves for the seniors.

The 2007 competition actually began before the 2006 finals, with a qualification round to eliminate eight of the lowest-ranked nations. For the first time, the host (Netherlands) was chosen ahead of the qualification section. As hosts, Netherlands qualified automatically. Coincidentally, the Dutch team had won the 2006 competition – the holders would normally have gone through the qualification stage. The other nations were all drawn into fourteen three-team groups. The 14 group winners were paired in double-leg play-off to decide the seven qualifiers alongside the hosts.

From 2009 to 2015, ten qualification groups were used, with the group winners and four best runners-up going into the two-legged play-offs.

The 2015 finals was to be the last eight teams edition, as UEFA expanded the tournament to twelve teams starting from the 2017 edition.

On 6 February 2019, UEFA's Executive Committee increased the number of participants in the finals to sixteen teams, starting from the 2021 edition.

Results

Ed.YearHostsFinalLosing semi-finalists (or third place match)No. of teams
WinnersScoreRunners-up
11978Home-and-away basisYugoslavia1–0 / 4–4 5–4 on aggregateEast GermanyBulgaria and England8
21980Home-and-away basisSoviet Union0–0 / 1–0 1–0 on aggregateEast GermanyEngland and Yugoslavia8
31982Home-and-away basisEngland3–1 / 2–3 5–4 on aggregateWest GermanyScotland and Soviet Union8
41984Home-and-away basisEngland1–0 / 2–0 3–0 on aggregateSpainItaly and Yugoslavia8
51986Home-and-away basisSpain1–2 / 2–1 3–3 on aggregate (3–0 p)ItalyEngland and Hungary8
61988Home-and-away basisFrance0–0 / 3–0 3–0 on aggregateGreeceEngland and Netherlands8
71990Home-and-away basisSoviet Union4–2 / 3–1 7–3 on aggregateYugoslaviaItaly and Sweden8
81992Home-and-away basisItaly2–0 / 0–1 2–1 on aggregateSwedenDenmark and Scotland8
91994FranceItaly1–0 (a.e.t.)PortugalSpain2–1France8
101996SpainItaly1–1 (4–2 p)SpainFrance1–0Scotland8
111998RomaniaSpain1–0GreeceNorway2–0Netherlands8
122000SlovakiaItaly2–1Czech RepublicSpain1–0Slovakia8
132002SwitzerlandCzech Republic0–0 (3–1 p)FranceItaly and Switzerland8
142004GermanyItaly3–0Serbia and MontenegroPortugal3–2 (a.e.t.)Sweden8
152006PortugalNetherlands3–0UkraineFrance and Serbia and Montenegro8
162007NetherlandsNetherlands4–1SerbiaBelgium and England8
172009SwedenGermany4–0EnglandItaly and Sweden8
182011DenmarkSpain2–0SwitzerlandBelarus1–0Czech Republic8
192013IsraelSpain4–2ItalyNetherlands and Norway8
202015Czech RepublicSweden0–0 (4–3 p)PortugalDenmark and Germany8
212017PolandGermany1–0SpainEngland and Italy12
222019ItalySpain2–1GermanyFrance and Romania12
232021Hungary SloveniaGermany1–0PortugalNetherlands and Spain16
242023Georgia RomaniaEngland1–0SpainIsrael and Ukraine16
252025SlovakiaEngland3–2 (a.e.t.)GermanyFrance and Netherlands16
262027Albania Serbia16

Performances by countries

TeamWinnersRunners-upThird place
Spain5 (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019)4 (1984, 1996, 2017, 2023)2 (1994, 2000)
Italy5 (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004)2 (1986, 2013)
England4 (1982, 1984, 2023, 2025)1 (2009)
Germany3 (2009, 2017, 2021)3 (1982, 2019, 2025)
Soviet Union2 (1980, 1990)
Netherlands2 (2006, 2007)
Serbia1 (1978)3 (1990, 2004, 2007)
France1 (1988)1 (2002)1 (1996)
Czech Republic1 (2002)1 (2000)
Sweden1 (2015)1 (1992)
Portugal3 (1994, 2015, 2021)1 (2004)
East Germany2 (1978, 1980)
Greece2 (1988, 1998)
Ukraine1 (2006)
Switzerland1 (2011)
Norway1 (1998)
Belarus1 (2011)

Comprehensive team results by tournament

Legend

1st – Champions 2nd – Runners-up 3rd – Third place 4th – Fourth place SF – Semi-finalistsQF – Quarter-finals GS – Group stage q – Qualified for the next tournament – Hosts• – Did not qualify × – Did not enter × – Withdrew before qualification / banned
Teams19781980198219841986198819901992199419961998200020022004200620072009201120132015201720192021202320252027Total
Albania×××QF•••••×•••••••••••••••q2
Austria•×•••••••••••••••••••GS•••1
BelarusPart of USSRו•••GS••GS3rd•••••••3
Belgium••••••••••••GS••SF•••••GS•GS•4
BulgariaSF•••••QF••••••••••••••••••2
CroatiaPart of Yugoslavia×ו•GS•GS•••••••GSQFGS•5
Czech Republic1QFQF•••QFQFQFQFQF•2nd1st••GS•4th•GSGS•GSGSGS16
DenmarkQF•••QF••SF••••••GS••GS•SFGSGSQF•QF10
East Germany2nd2nd•••••Part of Germany2
EnglandSFSF1st1stSFSF•••••GSGS••SF2ndGSGSGSSFGSGS1st1st18
Finland••••••••••••••••GS•••••••GS2
France••QFQFQF1st••4th3rd••2nd•SF••••••SFQFQFSF12
GeorgiaPart of USSR×ו•••••••••••••QFGS2
Germany2××2nd•••QFQF•QFQF••GSGS•1st•GSSF1st2nd1stGS2nd15
Greece•••••2nd••QF•2nd•GS••••••••••••4
HungaryQFQF••SF••••QF••••••••••••GS••5
Iceland××ו•••••••••••••GS••••GS••2
IsraelNot a UEFA member•••••••GS••GS••••SF•3
ItalyQFQFQFSF2ndQFSF1st1st1st•1stSF1stGSGSSF•2ndGSSFGSQFGSQF23
Netherlandsו•••SF•QF••4thGS••1st1st••SF•••SFGSSF10
North MacedoniaPart of Yugoslavia×ו••••••••••GS••••1
Norway••••••••••3rd•••••••SF••••GS•3
Poland••QFQFQF••QFQF•••••••••••GSGS••GS8
Portugal••×•••••2ndQF••GS3rdGSGS•••2ndGS•2ndQFQF11
Romania••••••••••QF••••••••••SFGSGSGS5
RussiaPart of USSRQF•QF•••••••GS•••GS×××4
Scotland•QFSFQF•QF•SF•4th•••••••••••••••6
Serbia31stSF•SF••2nd•×ו••2ndSF2ndGS••GSGSGS•••q12
SlovakiaPart of Czechoslovakia••4th••••••••GS•••GS3
SloveniaPart of Yugoslavia×ו••••••••••••GS•GS2
Soviet Union•1stSF•••1st•Soviet Union was dissolved3
Spain••QF2nd1stQFQF•3rd2nd1st3rd••••GS1st1st•2nd1stSF2ndQF17
Sweden••••QF•SF2nd••QF••4th••SF••1stGS••••8
Switzerland••••••••••••SFGS•••2nd••••GSQF•5
Turkey•••••••••••GS•••••••••••••1
UkrainePart of USSRו••••2nd••GS•••••SFGS4
Total88888888888888888888121216161616

Notes

Awards

Player of the Tournament

The Player of the Tournament award, formerly known as the Golden Player, is awarded to the player who plays the most outstanding football during the tournament. Since 2013, an official Player of the Tournament has been selected by the UEFA Technical Team.

YearGolden PlayerRef.
1978Yugoslavia national under-21 football team Vahid Halilhodžić
1980Soviet Union national under-21 football team Anatoliy Demyanenko
1982Germany national under-21 football team Rudi Völler
1984England national under-21 football team Mark Hateley
1986Spain national under-21 football team Manolo Sanchís
1988France national under-21 football team Laurent Blanc
1990Yugoslavia national under-21 football team Davor Šuker
1992Italy national under-21 football team Renato Buso
1994Portugal national under-21 football team Luís Figo
1996Italy national under-21 football team Fabio Cannavaro
1998Spain national under-21 football team Francesc Arnau
2000Italy national under-21 football team Andrea Pirlo
2002Czech Republic national under-21 football team Petr Čech
2004Italy national under-21 football team Alberto Gilardino
2006Netherlands national under-21 football team Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
2007Netherlands national under-21 football team Royston Drenthe
2009Sweden national under-21 football team Marcus Berg
2011Spain national under-21 football team Juan Mata
2013Spain national under-21 football team Thiago
2015Portugal national under-21 football team William Carvalho
2017Spain national under-21 football team Dani Ceballos
2019Spain national under-21 football team Fabián Ruiz
2021Portugal national under-21 football team Fábio Vieira
2023England national under-21 football team Anthony Gordon
2025England national under-21 football team Harvey Elliott

Top Scorer

The UEFA European Under-21 Championship Top Scorer award, formerly known as the Golden Boot, is handed to the player who scores the most goals during the tournament. Since the 2013 tournament, those who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Boot and Bronze Boot awards as the second and third top goalscorers in the tournament, respectively.

YearFirst placeGoalsSecond placeGoalsThird placeGoalsRef.
2000Italy national under-21 football team Andrea Pirlo3
2002Italy national under-21 football team Massimo Maccarone3
2004Italy national under-21 football team Alberto Gilardino4
2006Netherlands national under-21 football team Klaas-Jan Huntelaar4
2007Netherlands national under-21 football team Maceo Rigters4
2009Sweden national under-21 football team Marcus Berg7
2011Spain national under-21 football team Adrián5
2013Spain national under-21 football team Álvaro Morata4Spain national under-21 football team Thiago3Spain national under-21 football team Isco3
2015Czech Republic national under-21 football team Jan Kliment3Germany national under-21 football team Kevin Volland2Sweden national under-21 football team John Guidetti2
2017Spain national under-21 football team Saúl5Spain national under-21 football team Marco Asensio3Portugal national under-21 football team Bruma3
2019Germany national under-21 football team Luca Waldschmidt7Romania national under-21 football team George Pușcaș4Germany national under-21 football team Marco Richter3
2021Germany national under-21 football team Lukas Nmecha4Italy national under-21 football team Patrick Cutrone3Portugal national under-21 football team Dany Mota3
2023Spain national under-21 football team Sergio Gómez Spain national under-21 football team Abel Ruiz Ukraine national under-21 football team Heorhiy Sudakov3
2025Germany national under-21 football team Nick Woltemade6

Euro Under-21 dream team

On 17 June 2015, UEFA revealed an all-time best XI from the previous Under-21 final tournaments.

GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwards
Germany national under-21 football team Manuel NeuerSerbia national under-21 football team Branislav Ivanović Germany national under-21 football team Mats Hummels Italy national under-21 football team Alessandro Nesta Italy national under-21 football team Giorgio ChielliniEngland national under-21 football team Frank Lampard Italy national under-21 football team Andrea Pirlo Spain national under-21 football team Xavi Germany national under-21 football team Mesut ÖzilItaly national under-21 football team Francesco Totti Spain national under-21 football team Raúl

See also

External links

  • at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)