2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition is a men's under-21 football competition that will determine the 14 teams joining the automatically qualified co-hosts Hungary and Slovenia in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament.[1]

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
Tournament details
Dates20 March 2019 – 17 November 2020
Teams53 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played126
Goals scored401 (3.18 per match)
Top scorer(s) Odsonne Édouard (7 goals)

Apart from Hungary and Slovenia, all remaining 53 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition. Players born on or after 1 January 1998 are eligible to participate.

Format

The qualifying competition consists of two rounds:[2]

  • Qualifying group stage: The 53 teams are drawn into nine groups: eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. Each group is played in home-and-away round-robin format. The nine group winners and the best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) qualify directly for the final tournament, while the remaining eight runners-up advance to the play-offs.
  • Play-offs: The eight teams are drawn into four ties to play home-and-away two-legged matches to determine the last four 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):[2]

  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. Wins in all group matches;
  10. Away wins in all group matches;
  11. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  12. UEFA coefficient ranking for the qualifying group stage draw.

To determine the 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 15.02):[2]

  1. Points;
  2. Goal difference;
  3. Goals scored;
  4. Away goals scored;
  5. Wins;
  6. Away wins;
  7. Disciplinary points;
  8. UEFA coefficient ranking 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).[2]

Schedule

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

Stage Draw date FIFA International Dates
Qualifying group stage 11 December 2018 18–26 March 2019
3–11 June 2019
2–10 September 2019
7–15 October 2019
11–19 November 2019
31 August – 8 September 2020
5–13 October 2020
9–17 November 2020 (postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic)[3]

Qualifying group stage

Draw

The draw for the qualifying group stage was held on 11 December 2018, 09:00 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[4]

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 (Pots A–E for five-team group). Based on the decisions taken by the UEFA Emergency Panel, Spain and Gibraltar, and Serbia and Kosovo would not be drawn in the same group.[4]

Final tournament co-hosts
Team
 Hungary
 Slovenia
Teams entering qualifying group stage
Pot A
Team
 Germany
 England
 Spain
 Portugal
 Denmark
 France
 Italy
 Serbia
 Croatia
Pot B
Team
 Austria
 Sweden
 Belgium
 Slovakia
 Poland
 Romania
 Czech Republic
 Netherlands
 Israel
Pot C
Team
 Greece
 Ukraine
 Norway
 Russia
 Turkey
 Iceland
 Wales
  Switzerland
 Montenegro
Pot D
Team
 Bulgaria
 Finland
 Republic of Ireland
 Georgia
 Kosovo
 Scotland
 North Macedonia
 Belarus
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pot E
Team
 Northern Ireland
 Albania
 Moldova
 Lithuania
 Kazakhstan
 Latvia
 Azerbaijan
 Armenia
 Cyprus
Pot F
Team
 Luxembourg
 Malta
 Estonia
 Faroe Islands
 Gibraltar
 Andorra
 San Marino
 Liechtenstein
Notes
  • Teams marked in bold qualified for the final tournament.

Groups

Group 1
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 1
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Republic of Ireland 7 5 1 1 12 3 +9 16 Final tournament — 0–0 12 Nov 4–1 1–0 3–0
2  Italy 5 4 1 0 15 0 +15 13 Final tournament if among five best runners-up 13 Oct — 3–0 17 Nov 6–0 5–0
3  Iceland 5 3 0 2 10 9 +1 9 1–0 9 Oct — 4 Sep 6–1 3–0
4  Sweden 4 2 0 2 10 7 +3 6 1–3 8 Sep 5–0 — 13 Oct 9 Oct
5  Armenia 6 1 0 5 3 15 −12 3 0–1 0–1 17 Nov 13 Nov — 2–0
6  Luxembourg 5 0 0 5 0 16 −16 0 17 Nov 12 Nov 13 Oct 0–3 8 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA

Group 2
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 2
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Switzerland 4 4 0 0 11 2 +9 12 Final tournament — 3–1 2–1 4 Sep TBD 13 Oct
2  France 4 3 0 1 14 8 +6 9 Final tournament if among five best runners-up TBD — 3–2 12 Oct 5–0 8 Oct
3  Georgia 5 2 0 3 12 8 +4 6[lower-alpha 1] 9 Oct 4 Sep — TBD 13 Oct 4–0
4  Slovakia 4 2 0 2 11 11 0 6[lower-alpha 1] 8 Sep 3–5 3–2 — 8 Oct TBD
5  Azerbaijan 6 2 0 4 3 11 −8 6[lower-alpha 1] 0–1 7 Sep 0–3 2–1 — 1–0
6  Liechtenstein 5 1 0 4 3 14 −11 3 0–5 TBD 8 Sep 2–4 1–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Ranked on head-to-head goal difference: Georgia +2, Slovakia 0, Azerbaijan −2.

Group 3
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 4 4 0 0 13 3 +10 12[lower-alpha 1] Final tournament — 5–1 2–0 13 Oct TBD TBD
2  Austria 5 4 0 1 15 6 +9 12[lower-alpha 1] Final tournament if among five best runners-up 8 Sep — 4–0 4 Sep TBD 3–0
3  Kosovo 5 2 0 3 8 9 −1 6 4 Sep 9 Oct — TBD 13 Oct 3–1
4  Albania 6 1 2 3 7 14 −7 5 0–3 0–4 2–1 — 8 Sep 1–2
5  Andorra 4 1 1 2 5 9 −4 4[lower-alpha 2] 8 Oct 1–3 0–4 2–2 — 2–0
6  Turkey 6 1 1 4 7 14 −7 4[lower-alpha 2] 2–3 13 Oct 8 Sep 2–2 4 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Ranked on head-to-head points: England 3, Austria 0.
  2. Ranked on head-to-head points: Andorra 3, Turkey 0.

Group 4
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Czech Republic 5 3 2 0 11 2 +9 11 Final tournament — 1–1 0–0 7 Sep 2–0 6–0
2  Greece 4 3 1 0 8 1 +7 10 Final tournament if among five best runners-up TBD — TBD 13 Oct 1–0 5–0
3  Scotland 5 2 2 1 4 2 +2 8 9 Oct 0–1 — TBD 0–0 2–0
4  Croatia 4 2 0 2 12 5 +7 6 1–2 3 Sep 1–2 — TBD 8 Oct
5  Lithuania 5 1 1 3 4 6 −2 4 13 Oct 8 Oct 8 Sep 1–3 — TBD
6  San Marino 5 0 0 5 0 23 −23 0 2 Sep 7 Sep 13 Oct 0–7 0–3 —
Updated to match(es) played on 18 November 2019. Source: UEFA

Group 5
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Russia 6 4 2 0 12 2 +10 14 Final tournament — 2–2 4 Sep 1–0 9 Oct 2−0
2  Poland 5 3 1 1 8 5 +3 10 Final tournament if among five best runners-up 8 Sep — 13 Oct 1–0 4–0 TBD
3  Bulgaria 5 2 2 1 7 1 +6 8 0–0 3−0 — 0–1 TBD 9 Oct
4  Serbia 6 2 1 3 8 5 +3 7 0–2 9 Oct 8 Sep — 6−0 1–1
5  Estonia 5 1 0 4 2 20 −18 3 0–5 4 Sep 0–4 13 Oct — 2–1
6  Latvia 5 0 2 3 2 6 −4 2 13 Oct 0–1 0–0 4 Sep 8 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA

Group 6
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 5 4 1 0 9 1 +8 13 Final tournament — 13 Oct TBD 3–0 2–0 8 Oct
2  Israel 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 8 Final tournament if among five best runners-up 1–1 — 8 Sep TBD 0–0 3–1
3  Kazakhstan 5 2 1 2 7 6 +1 7[lower-alpha 1] 0–1 1–2 — 8 Oct 3 Sep 13 Oct
4  North Macedonia 4 2 1 1 10 6 +4 7[lower-alpha 1] 8 Sep TBD 1–1 — 13 Oct 7–1
5  Montenegro 6 1 1 4 5 8 −3 4 0–2 8 Oct 1–2 1–2 — 3–0
6  Faroe Islands 4 0 0 4 3 16 −13 0 TBD 2 Sep 1–3 TBD TBD —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (1), goal difference (0), goals scored (1). Ranked on head-to-head away goals: Kazakhstan 1, North Macedonia 0.

Group 7
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 7
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 4 4 0 0 19 3 +16 12 Final tournament — 4–2 TBD 8 Sep 5–1 8 Oct
2  Portugal 4 3 0 1 11 6 +5 9 Final tournament if among five best runners-up TBD — 8 Sep 9 Oct TBD 4–0
3  Belarus 5 2 2 1 14 4 +10 8 4 Sep 0–2 — 1–1 9 Oct 10–0
4  Norway 5 2 1 2 7 10 −3 7 0–4 2–3 13 Oct — 2–1 4 Sep
5  Cyprus 5 1 1 3 5 10 −5 4 13 Oct 4 Sep 1–1 1–2 — 1–0
6  Gibraltar 5 0 0 5 0 23 −23 0 0–6 13 Oct 0–2 TBD TBD —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA

Group 8
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark 5 5 0 0 13 5 +8 15 Final tournament — 2–1 13 Oct 4 Sep 2–1 5–1
2  Romania 5 3 1 1 11 3 +8 10 Final tournament if among five best runners-up TBD — 4–1 3–0 3–0 13 Oct
3  Finland 5 2 1 2 8 6 +2 7 0–1 4 Sep — 8 Sep 1–1 4–0
4  Ukraine 4 1 0 3 6 8 −2 3 2–3 9 Oct 0–2 — TBD 4–0
5  Northern Ireland 5 0 3 2 2 6 −4 3 8 Sep 0–0 9 Oct 13 Oct — 0–0
6  Malta 4 0 1 3 1 13 −12 1 9 Oct 8 Sep TBD TBD 4 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA

Group 9
Main article: 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 9
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 4 2 1 1 7 4 +3 7 Final tournament — 8 Sep 9 Oct 0–0 4–1
2  Germany 3 2 0 1 9 4 +5 6[lower-alpha 1] Final tournament if among five best runners-up 2–3 — TBD 13 Oct 3 Sep
3  Wales 4 2 0 2 4 7 −3 6[lower-alpha 1] 1–0 1–5 — 1–0 TBD
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 1 1 2 4 3 +1 4 TBD 0–2 4 Sep — 4–0
5  Moldova 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3 13 Oct 9 Oct 2–1 8 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Ranked on head-to-head points: Germany 3, Wales 0.

Ranking of second-placed teams

To determine the five best second-placed teams from the qualifying group stage which advance directly to the final tournament, 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 in six-team groups are not included. As a result, eight matches played by each second-placed team are counted for the purposes of determining the ranking.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 1  Italy 4 3 1 0 10 0 +10 10 Final tournament
2 8  Romania 5 3 1 1 11 3 +8 10
3 2  France 4 3 0 1 14 8 +6 9
4 3  Austria 4 3 0 1 12 6 +6 9
5 5  Poland 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2 7
6 4  Greece 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2 7
7 9  Germany 3 2 0 1 9 4 +5 6
8 7  Portugal 3 2 0 1 7 6 +1 6
9 6  Israel 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
Updated to match(es) played on 19 November 2019. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) away goals scored; 5) wins; 6) away wins; 7) disciplinary points; 8) coefficient ranking.

Play-offs

The draw for the play-offs was supposed to be held on 16 October 2020 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, to decide the matchups and the order of legs. The matches were supposed to be played at 9–17 November 2020, with the four play-off winners qualifying for the final tournament. However, the play-offs were later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualify for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in Under-21 Euro1
only U-21 era (since 1978)
 HungaryCo-hosts3 December 2018[1]4 (1978, 1980, 1986, 1996)
 SloveniaCo-hosts3 December 2018[1]0 (debut)
TBDGroup 1 winners2020
TBDGroup 2 winners2020
TBDGroup 3 winners2020
TBDGroup 4 winners2020
TBDGroup 5 winners2020
TBDGroup 6 winners2020
TBDGroup 7 winners2020
TBDGroup 8 winners2020
TBDGroup 9 winners2020
TBDBest runners-up2020
TBD2nd best runners-up2020
TBD3rd best runners-up2020
TBD4th best runners-up2020
TBD5th best runners-up2020
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Top goalscorers

There have been 401 goals scored in 126 matches, for an average of 3.18 goals per match (as of 19 November 2019).

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

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

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References
  1. "VAR to be used in UEFA Champions League knockout phase". UEFA. 3 December 2018.
  2. "2019-21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship regulations" (PDF). UEFA.
  3. "COVID-19: latest updates on UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. 17 March 2020.
  4. "2020/21 Under-21 qualifying draw". UEFA.com.
  5. "Under-21 EURO: New format and schedule announced". UEFA. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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