2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021) will be the 23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (26th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-21 national teams of Europe. Initially, 12 teams were to play in the tournament, however on 6 February 2019, UEFA's Executive Committee increased this number to 16.[1] Only players born on or after 1 January 1998 are eligible to participate.[2]
The tournament will be co-hosted by Hungary and Slovenia. It was originally scheduled to take place from 9 to 26 June 2021.[3] However, the tournament was rescheduled following the postponement of UEFA Euro 2020 to June/July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The new dates were to be decided initially on 27 May 2020,[5] but then postponed to 17 June 2020,[6] where the UEFA Executive Committee meeting discussed the calendar and format of the tournament.[7] On 17 June 2020, UEFA announced the tournament would be played in two stages; the group stage, which would take place from 24 to 31 March 2021, and the knockout stage, which would take place from 31 May to 6 June 2021.[8][9][10]
Spain are the defending champions.
Host selection
The following associations indicated their interests to bid for the tournament:
Hungary and Slovenia were appointed as co-hosts at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 3 December 2018.[3][13]
Qualification
All 55 UEFA nations entered the competition, and, unlike the last competition, co-hosts Hungary and Slovenia qualified automatically, and the other 53 teams competed in the qualifying competition to determine the remaining 14 spots in the final tournament. The draw for the qualifying group stage was held on 11 December 2018.[14] The qualifying group stage took place from March 2019 to October 2020, while the play-offs were set to take place in November 2020.[2] The qualifying competition would originally consist 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 runner-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.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe which caused the postponement of matches in the qualifying group stage, UEFA announced on 17 June 2020 that the play-offs would be cancelled. Instead, the nine group winners and the five best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) qualify for the final tournament.[8][9][10]
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the final tournament.
Note: All appearance statistics include only U-21 era (since 1978).
Team | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Co-hosts | 3 December 2018 | 5th | 1996 (quarter-finals) | Semi-finals (1986) | |
Co-hosts | 3 December 2018 | 1st | — | Debut | |
Group 5 winners | 13 October 2020 | 4th (7th incl. Soviet Union) | 2013 (group stage) | Champions (1980, 1990) | |
Group 2 runners-up[^] | 13 October 2020 | 4th | 2011 (runners-up) | Runners-up (2011) | |
Group 7 winners | 13 October 2020 | 9th | 2013 (semi-finals) | Champions (2006, 2007) | |
Group 8 winners | 13 October 2020 | 9th | 2019 (group stage) | Semi-finals (1992, 2015) | |
Group 6 winners | 13 October 2020 | 15th | 2019 (champions) | Champions (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019) | |
Group 3 winners | 13 October 2020 | 16th | 2019 (group stage) | Champions (1982, 1984) | |
Group 2 winners | 12 November 2020 | 10th | 2019 (semi-finals) | Champions (1988) | |
Group 1 winners | 15 November 2020 | 21st | 2019 (group stage) | Champions (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004) | |
Group 7 runners-up[^] | 15 November 2020 | 9th | 2017 (group stage) | Runners-up (1994, 2015) | |
Group 4 winners | 17 November 2020 | 8th (14th incl. Czechoslovakia) | 2017 (group stage) | Champions (2002) | |
Group 9 winners | 17 November 2020 | 13th | 2019 (runners-up) | Champions (2009, 2017) | |
Group 4 runners-up[^] | 17 November 2020 | 4th | 2019 (group stage) | Group stage (2000, 2004, 2019) | |
Group 8 runners-up[^] | 17 November 2020 | 3rd | 2019 (semi-finals) | Semi-finals (2019) | |
Group 1 runners-up[^] | 24 November 2020 | 2nd | 2011 (group stage) | Group stage (2011) |
- Notes
- ^ The best five runners-up among all nine groups qualified for the final tournament.
Final draw
The final draw was held on 10 December 2020, 15:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[15] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The teams were seeded according to their coefficient ranking following the end of the qualifying stage, calculated based on the following:[2]
- 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament and qualifying competition (20%)
- 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament and qualifying competition (40%)
- 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition (group stage only) (40%)
The hosts Hungary and Slovenia were assigned to position A1 and B1 respectively in the draw, while the other 14 teams were drawn to the other available positions in their group.[16]
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Venues
The following are the venues where the competition will be played:[17]
Székesfehérvár | Szombathely | Budapest | Győr |
---|---|---|---|
MOL Aréna Sóstó
(Aréna Sóstó)[17] |
Haladás Sportkomplexum
(Haladás Stadion)[17] |
Bozsik Aréna | Ménfői úti Stadion
(Gyirmóti Stadion)[17] |
Capacity: 14,000[17] | Capacity: 8,900[17] | Capacity: 8,468[17] | Capacity: 4,335[17] |
File:Haladás Sportkomplexum (2017).jpg | File:Bozsik Arena (bird view).jpg | ||
Locations of stadiums in Hungary |
Locations of stadiums in Slovenia | ||
Ljubljana | Celje | Maribor | Koper |
Stožice Stadium | Stadion Z'dežele
(Stadion Celje)[17] |
Ljudski vrt | Bonifika Stadium |
Capacity: 16,100[18] | Capacity: 13,600[19] | Capacity: 12,702[20] | Capacity: 4,010[21] |
The provisional schedule was announced in November 2019, with the above eight venues hosting matches.[22] Hungary (Groups A and C) and Slovenia (Groups B and D) would both host two groups, two quarter-finals and one semi-final each, while the final would be played in Slovenia at the Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana.[23]
Match officials
Country | Referee | 1st assistant referee | 2nd assistant referee |
---|---|---|---|
Lawrence Visser | Rien Vanyzere | Thibaud Nijssen | |
Irfan Peljto | Davor Bejlo | Senad Ibrišimbegović | |
Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez | Inigo Prieto López de Cerain | José Enrique Naranjo Pérez | |
Maurizio Mariani | Alberto Tegoni | Daniele Bindoni | |
Sandro Schärer | Stéphane de Almeida | Bekim Zogaj | |
Halil Umut Meler | Ibrahim Çağlar Uyarcan | Mustafa Emre Eyisoy | |
François Letexier | Cyril Mugnier | Mehdi Rahmouni | |
Giorgi Kruashvili | Levan Varamishvili | Zaza Pipia | |
Harm Osmers | Eduard Beitinger | Dominik Schaal | |
Dennis Higler | Joost van Zuilen | Johan Balder | |
Bartosz Frankowski | Jakub Winkler | Dawid Golis | |
Glenn Nyberg | Mahbod Beigi | Andreas Söderkvist |
4th Officials
Squads
Each national team have to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers. If a player is injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he can be replaced by another player.[2]
Group stage
The group winners and runners-up advance to the quarter-finals.
- Tiebreakers
In the 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 Articles 18.01 and 18.02):[2]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- 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;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams have the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and are tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams have the same number of points, or if their rankings are not relevant for qualification for the next stage);
- Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
- UEFA coefficient ranking for the final draw.
All times are local, CET (UTC+1) for matches between 24 and 27 March 2021, CEST (UTC+2) for matches between 28 and 31 March 2021.
Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Romania | v | |
---|---|---|
Report |
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Slovenia | v | |
---|---|---|
Report |
Czech Republic | v | |
---|---|---|
Report |
Group C
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Russia | v | |
---|---|---|
Report |
Group D
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Portugal | v | |
---|---|---|
Report |
England | v | |
---|---|---|
Report |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary.[2]
Bracket
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
31 May – Budapest | ||||||||||
Winner of Group A | ||||||||||
3 June – Székesfehérvár | ||||||||||
Runner-up of Group C | ||||||||||
Winner of Quarter-final 1 | ||||||||||
31 May – Székesfehérvár | ||||||||||
Winner of Quarter-final 2 | ||||||||||
Winner of Group C | ||||||||||
6 June – Ljubljana | ||||||||||
Runner-up of Group A | ||||||||||
Winner of Semi-final 1 | ||||||||||
31 May – Maribor | ||||||||||
Winner of Semi-final 2 | ||||||||||
Winner of Group B | ||||||||||
3 June – Maribor | ||||||||||
Runner-up of Group D | ||||||||||
Winner of Quarter-final 3 | ||||||||||
31 May – Ljubljana | ||||||||||
Winner of Quarter-final 4 | ||||||||||
Winner of Group D | ||||||||||
Runner-up of Group B | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Winner of Group A | Quarter-final 1 | Runner-up of Group C |
---|---|---|
Winner of Group B | Quarter-final 3 | Runner-up of Group D |
---|---|---|
Winner of Group C | Quarter-final 2 | Runner-up of Group A |
---|---|---|
Winner of Group D | Quarter-final 4 | Runner-up of Group B |
---|---|---|
Semi-finals
Winner of Quarter-final 1 | Semi-final 1 | Winner of Quarter-final 2 |
---|---|---|
Winner of Quarter-final 3 | Semi-final 2 | Winner of Quarter-final 4 |
---|---|---|
Final
Winner of Semi-final 1 | v | Winner of Semi-final 2 |
---|---|---|
Broadcasting
Europe
Country/region | Broadcaster | |
---|---|---|
Free | Pay | |
HRT[24] | ||
Sky Sports YouTube (non-England games only)[25] |
Sky Sports (England games only)[26] | |
ProSieben ProSieben Maxx[27] |
||
NOS[28] | ||
BeIN Sports[29] | ||
RTP[30] | ||
TVR[31] | ||
SVT[32] |
References
- ^ "Aleksander Čeferin re-elected UEFA President until 2023". UEFA.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g "2019–21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship regulations". UEFA.
- ^ a b "VAR to be used in UEFA Champions League knockout phase". UEFA. 3 December 2018.
- ^ "Resolution of the European football family on a coordinated response to the impact of the COVID-19 on competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Executive Committee approves guidelines on eligibility for participation to UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. 23 April 2020.
- ^ "UEFA Executive Committee meeting postponed to 17 June". UEFA.com. 18 May 2020.
- ^ "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for June meeting". UEFA.com. 11 June 2020.
- ^ a b "UEFA competitions to resume in August". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Updated UEFA competitions calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Under-21 EURO: New format and schedule announced". UEFA.com. 17 June 2020.
- ^ "Szlovéniával együtt pályázzuk meg az U21-es foci Eb-t". 444.hu. 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Maribor resen kandidat za gostitelja EP U21 v nogometu leta 2021". mariborinfo.com. 18 August 2018.
- ^ "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for Dublin meeting". UEFA.com. 16 November 2018.
- ^ "UEFA Direct #181" (PDF). UEFA.com. 31 October 2018. p. 51.
- ^ "2021 Under-21 EURO final tournament draw". UEFA.com.
- ^ a b c d e "UEFA Under-21 2019-21 Final Draw Procedure" (PDF). UEFA.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Under-21 EURO venue guide". UEFA.com. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ljubljana". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Celje". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Maribor". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Koper". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Labdarúgás: a 2021-es U21-es Európa-bajnokság előzetes menetrendje" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport Online. 8 November 2019.
- ^ "2021 Under-21 EURO final tournament match schedule". UEFA.com. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ https://sport.hrt.hr/ (in Croatian) https://sport.hrt.hr/. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help); Missing or empty|website=
|title=
(help) - ^ "England U21s live on Sky at the European U21 Championship: Andy Hinchcliffe's preview of group stages". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ "European U21 Championship 2017 live on Sky Sports this summer". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ "ran Fußball - ProSieben zeigt die UEFA Fußball-Europameisterschaft der U21". www.prosieben.de (in German). 2 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "NOS EK voetbal onder 21". NPO3.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "NOS EK voetbal onder 21". NPO3.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Campeonato da Europa Sub-21 na RTP1". rtp.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ "Partidele de la EURO 2021 vor putea fi urmărite în România la TVR". FRF (in Romanian). Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "SVT sänder från U21-EM: "Ett tillfälle att få se morgondagens stjärnor"". SVT.se (in Swedish). 17 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
External links
- Official website
- Under-21 Matches: 2021, UEFA.com
- 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship
- 2020–21 in UEFA football
- Scheduled association football competitions
- 2021 in youth association football
- International association football competitions hosted by Hungary
- International association football competitions hosted by Slovenia
- March 2021 sports events in Europe
- June 2021 sports events in Europe
- Current sports events