2021_UEFA_European_Under-21_Championship

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

23rd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship


The 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2021) was 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.[2] Only players born on or after 1 January 1998 were eligible to participate.[3]

Quick Facts 2021-es U21-es labdarúgó-Európa-bajnokság(in Hungarian)Evropsko prvenstvo v nogometu do 21 let 2021 (in Slovene), Tournament details ...

The tournament was co-hosted by Hungary and Slovenia. It was originally scheduled to take place from 9 to 26 June 2021.[4] However, the tournament was rescheduled following the postponement of UEFA Euro 2020 to June/July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The new dates were to be decided initially on 27 May 2020,[6] but then postponed to 17 June 2020,[7] where the UEFA Executive Committee meeting discussed the calendar and format of the tournament.[8] On 17 June 2020, UEFA announced the tournament would be played in two stages; the group stage, which took place from 24 to 31 March 2021, and the knockout stage, which took place from 31 May to 6 June 2021.[9][10][11] Due to COVID-19 Pandemic the VAR system wasn't used.

Spain were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the knockout phase by Portugal.

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.[4][14]

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.[15] The qualifying group stage took place from March 2019 to October 2020, while the play-offs were set to take place in November 2020.[3] The qualifying competition would originally consist of two rounds:[3]

  • Qualifying group stage: The 53 teams were drawn into nine groups: eight groups of six teams and one group of five teams. Each group was 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) qualified directly for the final tournament, while the remaining eight runners-up advance to the play-offs.
  • Play-offs: The eight teams were 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) qualified for the final tournament.[9][10][11]

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

Note: All appearance statistics include only U-21 era (since 1978).

More information Team, Method of qualification ...
Notes
  1. ^
    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.[16] The sixteen 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:[3]

The hosts Hungary and Slovenia were assigned to position A1 and B1 respectively in the draw, while the other fourteen teams were drawn to the other available positions in their group.[17]

More information Team, Coeff ...
More information Team, Coeff ...
More information Team, Coeff ...
More information Team, Coeff ...

Venues

The following were the venues where the competition was played:[18]

More information Hungary, Székesfehérvár ...

The provisional schedule was announced in November 2019, with the above eight venues hosting matches.[23] 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.[24]

Match officials

More information Country, Referee ...

Fourth officials

Squads

Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers. If a player was injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation in the tournament before his team's first match, he could be replaced by another player.[3]

Group stage

The group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals.

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams were 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 were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 18.01 and 18.02):[3]

  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. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams had the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and were tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams had the same number of points, or if their rankings were not relevant for qualification for the next stage);
  8. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  9. 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

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (2) and head-to-head goal difference (0). Head-to-head goals scored: Netherlands 2, Germany 1, Romania 1. Germany and Romania were ranked on overall goal difference.
More information Hungary, 0–3 ...
More information Romania, 1–1 ...

More information Hungary, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 0[27][note 1]
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)
More information Germany, 1–1 ...
Attendance: 0[28][note 1]
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

More information Netherlands, 6–1 ...
More information Germany, 0–0 ...

Group B

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
More information Slovenia, 0–3 ...
More information Czech Republic, 1–1 ...
Attendance: 0[32][note 1]
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)

More information Slovenia, 1–1 ...
More information Spain, 0–0 ...

More information Italy, 4–0 ...
More information Spain, 2–0 ...
Attendance: 0[36][note 1]
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)

Group C

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
More information Russia, 4–1 ...
More information France, 0–1 ...

More information Russia, 0–2 ...
More information Iceland, 0–2 ...

More information Denmark, 3–0 ...
Attendance: 0[41][note 1]
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
More information Iceland, 0–2 ...
Attendance: 0[42][note 1]
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)

Group D

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3) and head-to-head goal difference (0). Head-to-head goals scored: Croatia 4, Switzerland 3, England 2.
More information Portugal, 1–0 ...
More information England, 0–1 ...
Attendance: 0[44][note 1]
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)

More information Croatia, 3–2 ...
Attendance: 0[45][note 1]
Referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
More information Portugal, 2–0 ...

More information Switzerland, 0–3 ...
More information Croatia, 1–2 ...

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary.[3]

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
31 May – Budapest
 
 
 Netherlands2
 
3 June – Székesfehérvár
 
 France1
 
 Netherlands1
 
31 May – Székesfehérvár
 
 Germany2
 
 Denmark2 (5)
 
6 June – Ljubljana
 
 Germany (p)2 (6)
 
 Germany1
 
31 May – Maribor
 
 Portugal0
 
 Spain (a.e.t.)2
 
3 June – Maribor
 
 Croatia1
 
 Spain0
 
31 May – Ljubljana
 
 Portugal1
 
 Portugal (a.e.t.)5
 
 
 Italy3
 

Quarter-finals

More information Netherlands, 2–1 ...
Attendance: 1,672[49]
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

More information Denmark, 2–2 (a.e.t.) ...

More information Spain, 2–1 (a.e.t.) ...
Attendance: 1,886[51]
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)

More information Portugal, 5–3 (a.e.t.) ...

Semi-finals

More information Netherlands, 1–2 ...

More information Spain, 0–1 ...
Attendance: 1,910[54]
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Final

More information Germany, 1–0 ...
Attendance: 4,883[55]
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)

Goalscorers

There were 83 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 2.68 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:

Team of the tournament

After the tournament the Under-21 Team of the Tournament was selected by the UEFA Technical Observers.[58]

Broadcasting

Europe

More information Country/region, Broadcaster ...

Outside Europe

More information Country/Region, Broadcaster ...

Notes

  1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the match was played behind closed doors.

References

  1. "2021 Under-21 EURO Player of the Tournament: Fábio Vieira". UEFA.com. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. "Aleksander Čeferin re-elected UEFA President until 2023". UEFA.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. "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.
  4. "Executive Committee approves guidelines on eligibility for participation to UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 23 April 2020.
  5. "UEFA Executive Committee meeting postponed to 17 June". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 May 2020.
  6. "UEFA Executive Committee agenda for June meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 June 2020.
  7. "UEFA competitions to resume in August". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  8. "Updated UEFA competitions calendar". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  9. "Under-21 EURO: New format and schedule announced". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2020.
  10. "UEFA Direct #181" (PDF). UEFA.com. 31 October 2018. p. 51.
  11. "Under-21 EURO venue guide". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  12. "Ljubljana". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  13. "Celje". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  14. "Maribor". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  15. "Koper". under21.nzs.si. Football Association of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  16. "Labdarúgás: a 2021-es U21-es Európa-bajnokság előzetes menetrendje" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport Online. 8 November 2019.
  17. "2021 Under-21 EURO final tournament match schedule". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  18. "Hungary vs. Germany" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  19. "Romania vs. Netherlands" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  20. "Hungary vs. Romania" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  21. "Germany vs. Netherlands" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  22. "Netherlands vs. Hungary" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  23. "Germany vs. Romania" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  24. "Slovenia vs. Spain" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  25. "Czech Republich vs. Italy" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  26. "Slovenia vs. Czech Republic" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  27. "Spain vs. Italy" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  28. "Italy vs. Slovenia" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  29. "Spain vs. Czech Republic" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  30. "Russia vs. Iceland" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  31. "France vs. Denmark" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  32. "Russia vs. France" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  33. "Iceland vs. Denmark" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  34. "Denmark vs. Russia" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  35. "Iceland vs. France" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  36. "Portugal vs. Croatia" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  37. "England vs. Switzerland" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  38. "Croatia vs. Switzerland" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  39. "Portugal vs. England" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  40. "Switzerland vs. Portugal" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  41. "Croatia vs. England" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  42. "Netherlands vs. France" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  43. "Denmark vs. Germany" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  44. "Spain vs. Croatia" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  45. "Portugal vs. Italy" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  46. "Netherlands vs. Germany" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  47. "Spain vs. Portugal" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  48. "Germany vs. Portugal" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  49. "ran Fußball - ProSieben zeigt die UEFA Fußball-Europameisterschaft der U21". www.prosieben.de (in German). 2 February 2021. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  50. "NOS EK voetbal onder 21". NPO3.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  51. "Campeonato da Europa Sub-21 na RTP1". rtp.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  52. "SVT sänder från U21-EM: "Ett tillfälle att få se morgondagens stjärnor"". SVT.se (in Swedish). 17 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

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