2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

The 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition is a men's under-21 football competition that determine the 14 teams joining the automatically qualified co-hosts Romania and Georgia in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament.

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
Tournament details
Dates25 March 2021 – November 2022
Teams53 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played183
Goals scored534 (2.92 per match)
Top scorer(s) Gonçalo Ramos (9 goals)

Apart from Romania and Georgia, all remaining 53 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition. Players born on or after 1 January 2000 are eligible to participate.

Format

The qualifying competition will consist of the following two rounds:

  • 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):[1]

  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 five 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):[1]

  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 28 January 2021[2] Matchday 1 (1–3 September 2021)[lower-alpha 1]
Matchday 2 (6–7 September 2021)
Matchday 3 (7–8 October 2021)
Matchday 4 (11–12 October 2021)
Matchday 5 (10–12 November 2021)
Matchday 6 (14–16 November 2021)
Matchday 7 (24–25 March 2022)
Matchday 8 (28–29 March 2022)
Matchday 9 (2–6 June 2022)
Matchday 10 (6–14 June 2022)
Play-offs TBD TBD
TBD
  1. Some matches of Matchday 1 were played on 25 and 29 March 2021 and some matches were played on 4–8 June 2021

Qualifying group stage

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

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, the following teams would not be drawn in the same group.[3]

  • Armenia and Azerbaijan
  • Gibraltar and Spain
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo
  • Kosovo and Serbia
  • Kosovo and Russia
  • Russia and Ukraine[4]

Group A
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Croatia 8 6 1 1 19 7 +12 19 Final tournament — 0–0 3–2 2–3 2–0 2–0
2  Austria (Y) 9 5 1 3 20 10 +10 16 Play-offs 1–3 — 2–1 3 Jun 6–0 2–0
3  Norway 7 5 0 2 19 8 +11 15 3 Jun 3–1 — 3–1 14 Jun 3–0
4  Finland 7 4 1 2 12 9 +3 13 0–2 3–1 10 Jun — 7 Jun 1–0
5  Azerbaijan (E) 7 1 1 5 6 19 −13 4 1–5 0–3 1–2 1–1 — 3–0
6  Estonia (E) 8 0 0 8 0 23 −23 0 8 Jun 0–4 0–5 0–3 3 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Group B
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 8 7 0 1 26 8 +18 21 Final tournament — 3–2 0–4 3 Jun 4–0 4–0
2  Israel 8 5 1 2 17 9 +8 16 Play-offs 0–1 — 2–2 3–0 2–1 7 Jun
3  Poland 8 4 3 1 20 7 +13 15 7 Jun 1–2 — 1–1 5–0 3–0
4  Hungary (Y) 8 3 2 3 14 13 +1 11 1–5 1–2 2–2 — 1–0 4–0
5  Latvia (E) 8 1 1 6 4 17 −13 4 1–3 2 Jun 0–2 7 Jun — 2–0
6  San Marino (E) 8 0 1 7 0 27 −27 1 0–6 0–4 2 Jun 0–4 0–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Group C
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain (Q) 6 6 0 0 24 4 +20 18 Final tournament — 3–2 3–0 7 Jun 8–0 4–1
2  Slovakia (Y) 7 4 0 3 15 9 +6 12 Play-offs 2–3 — 2–1 4–0 3–1 Canc.
3  Northern Ireland (Y) 6 2 0 4 7 11 −4 6 3 Jun 1–0 — 0–2 4–0 Canc.
4  Malta (Y) 6 2 0 4 8 15 −7 6 0–5 3 Jun 4–1 — 1–3 Canc.
5  Lithuania (E) 7 2 0 5 6 21 −15 6 0–2 0–2 7 Jun 2–1 — 0–3
6  Russia[lower-alpha 1] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Disqualified 1–0 3–0 1–0 6–0 Canc. —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs
Notes:
  1. On 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams from all competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5] On 2 May 2022, UEFA considered null and void all their results.[6]

Group D
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal (T) 7 6 1 0 25 1 +24 19 Final tournament — 11 Jun 1–0 1–1 6–0 11–0
2  Greece 8 5 2 1 15 5 +10 17 Play-offs 0–4 — 2–0 1–0 0–0 4–0
3  Belarus (Y) 7 3 0 4 12 7 +5 9 4 Jun 0–2 — 1–2 5 Jun 6–0
4  Iceland (Y) 7 2 3 2 8 6 +2 9 0–1 1–1 8 Jun — 11 Jun 3 Jun
5  Cyprus (Y) 7 2 2 3 13 9 +4 8 0–1 6 Jun 0–1 1–1 — 6–0
6  Liechtenstein (E) 8 0 0 8 0 45 −45 0 7 Jun 0–5 0–4 0–3 0–6 —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (T) Qualified, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Group E
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Switzerland (T) 8 6 1 1 20 5 +15 19 Final tournament — 2–2 3–0 4 Jun 5–1 4–0
2  Netherlands 7 5 2 0 22 3 +19 17 Play-offs 2–0 — 3–0 3–1 5–0 7 Jun
3  Moldova (Y) 8 3 2 3 6 8 −2 11 8 Jun 3 Jun — 0–2 1–0 1–0
4  Bulgaria (E) 8 2 3 3 9 9 0 9 0–1 0–0 0–0 — 0–4 5–0
5  Wales (E) 8 2 2 4 13 13 0 8 0–1 11 Jun 0–0 1–1 — 14 Jun
6  Gibraltar (E) 7 0 0 7 0 32 −32 0 0–4 0–7 0–4 11 Jun 0–7 —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (T) Qualified, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Group F
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 7 5 2 0 11 3 +8 17 Final tournament — 1–1 14 Jun 1–0 1–0 3–0
2  Sweden 8 4 2 2 18 7 +11 14 Play-offs 9 Jun — 0–2 4–0 3–1 6–0
3  Republic of Ireland 7 4 1 2 9 5 +4 13 0–2 1–0 — 3 Jun 6 Jun 2–0
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina (E) 9 3 2 4 9 13 −4 11 1–2 1–1 0–2 — 2–1 1–0
5  Montenegro (E) 8 2 2 4 10 14 −4 8 1–1 1–3 2–1 2–2 — 10 Jun
6  Luxembourg (E) 7 0 1 6 2 17 −15 1 6 Jun 2 Jun 1–1 0–2 1–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated

Group G
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group G
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Czech Republic (T) 8 6 1 1 15 4 +11 19 Final tournament — 3 Jun 1–0 4–0 3–0 13 Jun
2  England 6 5 1 0 15 4 +11 16 Play-offs 3–1 — 13 Jun 7 Jun 2–0 4–1
3  Slovenia (Y) 8 2 4 2 7 6 +1 10 1–1 2–2 — 3–0 0–0 9 Jun
4  Albania (E) 8 3 0 5 8 13 −5 9 0–1 0–3 2–0 — 13 Jun 2–0
5  Kosovo (Y) 7 2 2 3 4 7 −3 8 0–1 10 Jun 0–0 2–1 — 2–0
6  Andorra (E) 7 0 0 7 1 16 −15 0 0–3 0–1 0–1 0–3 4 Jun —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (T) Qualified, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Group H
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France (T) 7 6 1 0 22 1 +21 19 Final tournament — 5–0 2 Jun 2–0 3–0 7–0
2  Ukraine 6 4 1 1 7 8 −1 13 Play-offs 9 Jun — 2–1 1–0 5 Jun 2–1
3  Serbia (Y) 8 3 2 3 9 8 +1 11 0–3 0–1 — 0–0 2–1 2–0
4  Faroe Islands (Y) 8 2 3 3 5 7 −2 9 1–1 1 Jun 7 Jun — 1–1 2–0
5  North Macedonia (E) 8 1 3 4 5 10 −5 6 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 — 2 Jun
6  Armenia (E) 7 1 0 6 5 19 −14 3 6 Jun 12 Jun 1–4 2–0 1–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (T) Qualified, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Group I
Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group I
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium (Q) 7 6 1 0 14 2 +12 19 Final tournament — 1–0 2–0 5 Jun 2–0
2  Denmark (Y) 5 3 1 1 5 3 +2 10 Play-offs 1–1 — 14 Jun 10 Jun 4 Jun
3  Turkey (Y) 6 2 1 3 5 8 −3 7 0–3 1–2 — 1–1 10 Jun
4  Scotland (Y) 6 1 2 3 5 9 −4 5 0–2 0–1 0–2 — 2–1
5  Kazakhstan (E) 6 0 1 5 4 11 −7 1 1–3 0–1 0–1 2–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source: UEFA
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified To The Phase Indicated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, may only advance to play-offs

Ranking of second-placed teams

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-ranked team qualifies directly for the final tournament, while the other teams enter the play-offs

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E  Netherlands 6 4 2 0 15 3 +12 14 Final tournament
2 B  Israel 7 4 1 2 13 9 +4 13 Play-offs
3 C  Slovakia 7 4 0 3 15 6 +9 12
4 F  Sweden 7 3 2 2 12 7 +5 11
5 D  Greece 6 3 2 1 6 5 +1 11
6 G  England 4 3 1 0 10 3 +7 10
7 A  Austria 7 3 1 3 14 10 +4 10
8 I  Denmark 5 3 1 1 5 3 +2 10
9 H  Ukraine 5 3 1 1 5 7 −2 10
Updated to match(es) played on 29 March 2022. Source:
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
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
1 TBD TBD
2 TBD TBD
3 TBD TBD
4 TBD TBD

Advanced teams
Teams qualified
Group Group winners Runners-up (Direct entrant(s)) Runners-up (Play-offs) Qualified (Position TBD)
A
B
C  Spain
D  Portugal
E   Switzerland
F
G  Czech Republic
H  France
I  Belgium

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
 Romania Co-hosts 3 December 2020 4th 2021 Semi-finals (2019)
 Georgia 1st Debut
 BelgiumGroup I winners29 March 20224th2019Semi-finals (2007)
 SpainGroup C winners2 May 2022[lower-alpha 1]16th2021Champions (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019)
  1. On 2 May 2022, UEFA announced that Russia were removed from European Under-21 Championship qualification due to their country's invasion of Ukraine, with all their earlier results considered null and void.[7] Spain therefore qualified for the European Under-21 Championship, as no other teams could surpass them.

Top goalscorers

There have been 534 goals scored in 183 matches, for an average of 2.92 goals per match (as of 29 March 2022[8][9]).

9 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

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

References
  1. "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  2. UEFA.com (2021-01-04). "2021-23 Under-21 qualifying draw: 28 January". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. UEFA.com (2021-01-04). "2021-23 Under-21 qualifying draw: 28 January". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  4. UEFA.com (2014-07-17). "Emergency Panel decisions | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  5. "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". fifa.com. FIFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  6. "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". uefa.com. UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  7. "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". uefa.com. UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  8. "U21 EURO − Stats". uefa.com. UEFA.
  9. "U21 EURO − Player stats − Goals". uefa.com. UEFA.
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