2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

The 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification was a men's under-21 national football team competition that determined the 15 teams that joined the automatically qualified hosts Slovakia in the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament.

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
Tournament details
Dates24 March 2023 – 19 November 2024
Teams52 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played254
Goals scored770 (3.03 per match)
Attendance527,505 (2,077 per match)
Top scorer(s) Fábio Silva
(8 goals)
2023
2027
All statistics correct as of 16 October 2024.

Apart from Slovakia, Liechtenstein (dissolved their U21 team until 2025) and Russia (banned), remaining 52 UEFA member national teams entered this qualifying competition. Players born on or after 1 January 2002 were eligible to participate.

Format

The qualifying competition will consist of the following two rounds:

  • Qualifying group stage: The 52 teams are drawn into nine groups: seven groups of six teams and two groups of five teams. Each group is played in home-and-away round-robin format. The nine group winners and the three best runner-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) qualify directly for the final tournament, while the remaining six runners-up advance to the play-offs.
  • Play-offs: The six teams are drawn into three ties to play home-and-away two-legged matches to determine the last three 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. 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;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Away goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Wins in all group matches;
  9. Away wins in all group matches;
  10. Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
  11. UEFA coefficient ranking for the qualifying group stage draw.

To determine the bests runner-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):

  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.

Schedule

Stage Draw date FIFA International Dates
Qualifying group stage 2 February 2023 FIFA date 1 (24–28 March 2023)
FIFA date 2 (15–20 June 2023)
FIFA date 3 (6–12 September 2023)
FIFA date 4 (12–17 October 2023)
FIFA date 5 (16–21 November 2023)
FIFA date 6 (21–26 March 2024)
FIFA date 7 (5–10 September 2024)
FIFA date 8 (10–15 October 2024)
Play-offs 17 October 2024 1st leg (11 November 2024)
2nd leg (19 November 2024)

Qualifying group stage

Draw

Pot 1
Team
 Spain
 Portugal
 Germany
 France
 Netherlands
 England
 Denmark
 Italy
 Romania
Banned from entering qualifying
Team
 Russia
Did not enter
Team
 Liechtenstein

Each group contained one team from each of Pots 1–6 (Pots 1–5 for five-team group). Based on the decisions taken by the UEFA Emergency Panel, the following teams would not be drawn in the same group.

  • Armenia and Azerbaijan
  • Belarus and Ukraine
  • Gibraltar and Spain
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo
  • Kosovo and Serbia

Groups

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 10 6 4 0 27 4 +23 22 Final tournament 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 7–0
2  Norway 10 6 1 3 28 11 +17 19 Play-offs 0–3 3–2 5–1 7–0 4–0
3  Republic of Ireland 10 5 4 1 24 12 +12 19 2–2 1–1 3–2 2–2 3–0
4  Turkey 10 4 1 5 21 15 +6 13 0–2 2–0 0–1 3–0 5–0
5  Latvia 10 3 2 5 10 18 −8 11 0–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 2–0
6  San Marino 10 0 0 10 1 51 −50 0 0–7 0–7 0–7 1–6 0–3
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Norway 4, Republic of Ireland 1.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 10 9 1 0 28 5 +23 28 Final tournament 1–0 1–0 2–0 4–3 6–0
2  Belgium 10 6 1 3 13 6 +7 19 Play-offs 1–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 3–1
3  Scotland 10 5 1 4 19 11 +8 16 1–2 0–2 3–1 4–1 2–1
4  Hungary 10 5 1 4 12 8 +4 16 0–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 2–1
5  Kazakhstan 10 3 0 7 13 24 −11 9 0–4 0–3 3–2 0–3 4–1
6  Malta 10 0 0 10 4 35 −31 0 0–6 0–2 0–5 0–3 0–2
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Scotland 4, Hungary 1.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 10 10 0 0 32 3 +29 30 Final tournament 3–1 3–0 5–0 3–0 1–0
2  Georgia 10 6 1 3 14 10 +4 19 Play-offs 0–3 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–0
3  Sweden 10 5 2 3 25 10 +15 17 2–4 3–2 0–1 4–0 9–0
4  North Macedonia 10 4 0 6 8 15 −7 12 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 1–0
5  Moldova 10 2 1 7 7 20 −13 7 0–3 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2
6  Gibraltar 10 1 0 9 3 31 −28 3 0–5 0–2 0–5 0–2 1–3
Source: UEFA

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 10 8 2 0 35 10 +25 26 Final tournament 3–1 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–0
2  Poland 10 7 1 2 24 10 +14 22 3–3 0–1 3–0 5–0 2–1
3  Bulgaria 10 4 3 3 17 12 +5 15 2–3 1–3 1–1 6–0 1–0
4  Kosovo 10 3 3 4 10 17 −7 12 0–3 0–4 2–2 2–0 3–1
5  Estonia 10 2 1 7 7 31 −24 7 1–10 0–1 1–1 3–1 1–0
6  Israel 10 1 0 9 5 18 −13 3 1–5 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–0
Source: UEFA

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Romania 10 7 1 2 23 10 +13 22 Final tournament 1–0 3–1 5–0 1–0 2–0
2  Finland 10 6 2 2 21 8 +13 20 Play-offs 2–0 1–2 4–1 2–1 6–0
3   Switzerland 10 5 3 2 21 12 +9 18 2–2 1–1 1–2 4–2 5–0
4  Albania 10 5 1 4 12 17 −5 16 3–2 0–0 1–3 2–0 1–0
5  Montenegro 10 2 1 7 8 19 −11 7 2–6 1–2 0–2 1–0 0–0
6  Armenia 10 0 2 8 2 21 −19 2 0–1 1–3 0–0 1–2 0–1
Source: UEFA

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 10 8 1 1 41 6 +35 25 Final tournament 2–1 9–1 3–0 7–0 7–0
2  Ukraine 10 8 0 2 20 7 +13 24 3–2 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–0
3  Serbia 10 5 1 4 13 18 −5 16 0–3 1–0 1–2 2–0 2–0
4  Northern Ireland 10 3 2 5 10 10 0 11 0–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 5–0
5  Luxembourg 10 2 2 6 6 23 −17 8 0–3 0–3 1–1 0–0 2–0
6  Azerbaijan 10 1 0 9 4 30 −26 3 1–5 0–3 0–2 0–1 3–2
Source: UEFA

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 10 9 0 1 33 6 +27 27 Final tournament 5–1 2–0 4–0 6–1 3–0
2  Croatia 10 7 1 2 20 14 +6 22 Play-offs 0–2 3–2 2–1 2–0 2–0
3  Greece 10 5 2 3 16 10 +6 17 2–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 1–0
4  Faroe Islands 10 3 1 6 11 24 −13 10 1–3 2–4 0–4 1–0 2–2
5  Belarus 10 1 3 6 6 20 −14 6 0–5 0–1 1–0 2–3 0–0
6  Andorra 10 0 3 7 4 16 −12 3 1–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 1–1
Source: UEFA

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Slovenia 8 5 2 1 13 7 +6 17 Final tournament 0–4 1–0 2–0 3–0
2  France 8 5 1 2 22 6 +16 16 1–1 1–2 9–0 2–0
3  Austria 8 4 3 1 12 6 +6 15 1–1 2–0 2–2 2–0
4  Cyprus 8 1 2 5 7 23 −16 5 0–3 0–3 1–1 1–2
5  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 1 0 7 5 17 −12 3 1–2 1–2 0–2 1–3
Source: UEFA

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark 8 5 2 1 18 8 +10 17 Final tournament 5–0 2–2 2–0 3–0
2  Czech Republic 8 4 2 2 13 11 +2 14 Play-offs 0–0 1–1 4–1 3–0
3  Wales 8 4 2 2 13 11 +2 14 1–2 1–2 1–0 2–1
4  Iceland 8 3 0 5 9 14 −5 9 4–2 2–1 1–2 0–2
5  Lithuania 8 1 0 7 7 16 −9 3 1–2 1–2 2–3 0–1
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head points: Czech Republic 4, Wales 1

Ranking of second-placed teams

Because two groups have one fewer team than the others, 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. The top three teams qualify directly for the final tournament, while the other six teams enter the play-offs.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F  Ukraine 8 6 0 2 16 7 +9 18 Final tournament
2 H  France 8 5 1 2 22 6 +16 16
3 D  Poland 8 5 1 2 20 8 +12 16
4 G  Croatia 8 5 1 2 15 14 +1 16 Play-offs
5 E  Finland 8 4 2 2 12 7 +5 14
6 I  Czech Republic 8 4 2 2 13 11 +2 14
7 A  Norway 8 4 1 3 17 11 +6 13
8 B  Belgium 8 4 1 3 8 5 +3 13
9 C  Georgia 8 4 1 3 10 10 0 13
Source: [citation needed]
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 held on 17 October 2024 in Nyon, Switzerland.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Finland 6–3 Norway5–11–2
Belgium 1–3 Czech Republic0–21–1
Georgia 3–3 (7–6 p) Croatia1–02–3 (a.e.t.)

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

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

Team Qualification method Date of qualification Appearance(s) Previous best performance Rank
Total First Last Streak
 Slovakia Hosts 25 January 2023 3rd 2000 2017 1 Fourth place (2000) 23
 Netherlands Group C winners 9 September 2024 10th 1988 2023 3 Champions (2006, 2007) 4
 Spain Group B winners 10 September 2024 17th 1982 5 Champions (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019) 1
 Portugal Group G winners 11 October 2024 11th 1994 3 Runners-up (1994, 2015, 2021) 3
 Germany Group D winners 15th 1982 8 Champions (2009, 2017, 2021) 5
 Denmark Group I winners 10th 1978 2021 1 Semi-finals (1992, 2015) 9
 Ukraine Three best runners-up 4th 2006 2023 2 Runners-up (2006) 7
 England Group F winners 12 October 2024 18th 1978 10 Champions (1982, 1984, 2023) 2
 Romania Group E winners 15 October 2024 5th 1998 4 Semi-finals (2019) 10
 Poland Three best runners-up 8th 1982 2019 1 Quarter-finals (1982, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1994) 14
 Slovenia Group H winners 2nd 2021 1 Group stage (2021) 19
 France Three best runners-up 12th 1982 2023 4 Champions (1988) 6
 Italy Group A winners 23rd 1978 7 Champions (1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2004) 7
 Finland Play-offs winner 19 November 2024 2nd 2009 1 Group stage (2009) 20
 Czech Republic 10th 1996 2023 3 Champions (2002) 13
 Georgia 2nd 2023 2 Quarter-finals (2023) 17

Top goalscorers

There have been 776 goals scored in 250 matches, for an average of 3.1 goals per match.

8 goals

  • Fábio Silva

7 goals

  • Harvey Elliott
  • Otso Liimatta
  • Noah Ohio
  • Andreas Schjelderup

6 goals

  • Marin Ljubičić
  • Francesco Pio Esposito
  • Noni Madueke
  • Samu Omorodion
  • Youssoufa Moukoko
  • Kristian Arnstad
  • Tio Cipot
  • Erencan Yardımcı

5 goals

  • James McAtee
  • Mateo Joseph
  • Karim Adeyemi
  • Rocco Vata
  • Million Manhoef
  • Filip Szymczak
  • Louis Munteanu

4 goals

  • Adrion Pajaziti
  • Kazeem Olaigbe
  • Nikola Iliev
  • Georgi Nikolov
  • Václav Sejk
  • Casper Terho
  • Arnaud Kalimuendo
  • Jørgen Nielsen
  • Nicolò Tresoldi
  • Nick Woltemade
  • Christos Tzolis
  • Sinclair Armstrong
  • Kristall Máni Ingason
  • Tommaso Baldanzi
  • Wilfried Gnonto
  • Vlad Răileanu
  • Andrea Zammit
  • Paulo Bernardo
  • Fabian Rieder
  • Jusef Erabi
  • Nazar Voloshyn

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

  • Group A
  • Group B
  • Group C
  • Group D
  • Group E
  • Group F
  • Group G
  • Group H
  • Group I

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