2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Campionato europeo di calcio Under-21 2019
Tournament details
Host countriesItaly
San Marino
Dates16–30 June[1]
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Spain (5th title)
Runners-up Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played21
Goals scored78 (3.71 per match)
Attendance214,637 (10,221 per match)
Top scorer(s)Germany Luca Waldschmidt (7 goals)
Best player(s)Spain Fabián Ruiz
2017
2021

The 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2019) was the 22nd edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (25th 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. The final tournament was hosted by Italy (and some matches by San Marino) in mid-2019, after their bid was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee on 9 December 2016 in Nyon, Switzerland.[2][3]

A total of twelve teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 1996 eligible to participate.[4]

Same as previous Under-21 Championships that were held one year prior to the Olympics, this tournament served as European qualifying for the Olympic football tournament, with the top four teams of the tournament qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympic men's football tournament in Japan, where they will be represented by their under-23 national teams with maximum of three overage players allowed. The four teams that qualified for the Olympic Games were the ones that qualified for the knockout stage of this championship.[5] For the first time, the video assistant referee (VAR) system was used at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[6]

Germany were the defending champions.

  1. ^ "UEFA Europa League Final 2019 to be played on 29 May". UEFA. 4 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Italy to host 2019 Under-21 EURO". uefa.com. 9 December 2016.
  3. ^ "LA UEFA ASSEGNA ALL'ITALIA E SAN MARINO L'EUROPEO UNDER 21 DEL 2019". San Marino Football Federation. 9 December 2016.
  4. ^ "2017-19 UEFA European Under-21 Championship regulations" (PDF). UEFA.
  5. ^ "OC for FIFA Competitions approves procedures for the Final Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017.
  6. ^ "VAR to be used in UEFA Champions League knockout phase". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.