The 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1994–96), had 44 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total.
Italy U-21s won the competition for the third consecutive time.
Format
No fewer than 13 newly independent nations competed for the first time – due mainly to the fall of
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
rule in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
in the early 1990s.
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, who competed in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
were joined by nine further former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
states:
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
The exclusion (for political reasons) of the team from
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, then known as the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
continued.
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and the
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
were three former states of
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
who did compete though.
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
became two separate nations – teams from the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
complete the list of new entrants.
The 44 national teams were divided into eight groups (four groups of 5 + four groups of 6). The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis to determine the final four, one of whom would host the last four matches. The top five nations qualify for the
Atlanta '96 Olympics.
Qualification
List of qualified teams
:
1 Bold indicates champion for that year
:
2 As
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
:
3 As
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
Squads
Results
Quarter-finals
First leg
----
----
----
Second leg
----
----
----
Semi-finals
----
Third-place play-off
Final
Goalscorers
;3 goals
*
Raúl
Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul.
Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...
;2 goals
*
Florian Maurice
Florian Maurice (born 20 January 1974) is a French football executive and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He most notably won the 1998 Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue with French team Paris Saint-Germain. He play ...
*
Robert Pires
Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French association football, football coach and former professional Football player, player.
Pires played for French clubs FC Metz, Metz and Olympique de Marseille, Marseille prior to his time wi ...
;1 goal
*
Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer (, born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he played ...
*
Robert Vágner
Robert Vágner (born 12 May 1974 in Plzeň) is a Czech former footballer who played as a striker. He played international football for the Czech Republic. Vágner played 230 times in the top division of the Czech Republic, the Czech First Leag ...
*
Patrick Moreau
Patrick Moreau (born 3 November 1973) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender.
References
*
*
1973 births
Living people
People from Cognac, France
Sports ...
*
Christian Nerlinger
Christian Nerlinger (born 21 March 1973) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. His professional career was mainly associated with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Club career
Nerlinger was born in D ...
*
Gábor Egressy
*
Károly Szanyó
*
Gábor Zavadszky
Gábor Zavadszky (10 September 1974 – 7 January 2006) was a Hungarian footballer.
Club career
Zavadszky was a midfielder and first played for MTK Hungária FC and Ferencvárosi Torna Club in his hometown Budapest. In early 2005 he joined A ...
*
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...
*
Christian Vieri
Christian "Bobo" Vieri (; born 12 July 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre forward.
Having been born in Italy, Vieri moved with his family to Australia as a child, before returning to Italy to pursue his p ...
*
Hugo Porfírio
Hugo Cardoso Porfírio (born 28 September 1973) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mostly as a winger.
He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 86 games and ten goals over the course of nine seasons, representing five clubs. ...
*
Dani
*
Óscar Oscar or Oskar is a masculine given name of Irish origin.
Etymology
The name is derived from two elements in Irish: the first, ''os'', means "deer"; the second element, ''car'', means "loving" or "friend", thus "deer-loving one" or "friend of deer" ...
*
Iván de la Peña
Iván de la Peña López (; born 6 May 1976) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. During his career, he earned the nicknames ''Pequeño Buddha'' ( ''Little Buddha'') and ''Lo Pelat'' (''The Shaven One' ...
*
Roberto Fresnedoso
Roberto Luis Fresnedoso Prieto (born 15 January 1973), known simply as Roberto, is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Born in Toledo, Spain, Toledo, Castilla–La Mancha, Rober ...
*
Christian Dailly
Christian Eduard Dailly (born 23 October 1973) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Dailly started his professional career as a teenager, playing as a striker for Dundee United. He helped them win the 199 ...
*
Simon Donnelly
Simon Thomas Donnelly (born 1 December 1974) is a Scottish professional football player and coach. Donnelly played as a forward or wide midfielder for Queen's Park, Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, St Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Partick ...
*
Stephen Glass
Stephen Randall Glass (born September 15, 1972) is an American paralegal who previously worked as a journalist for ''The New Republic'' from 1995 to 1998, until it was revealed that many of his published articles were fabrications. An internal i ...
*
Jim Hamilton
*
Scott Marshall
;Own goal
*
Emílio Peixe
Emílio Manuel Delgado Peixe (born 16 January 1973) is a Portuguese former footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, currently manager of the Kuwait under-23 team.
A member of the dubbed Golden Generation who hailed from the Por ...
(playing against Italy)
*
Iñigo Idiakez
Iñigo Idiakez Barkaiztegi (born 8 November 1973) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a midfielder or forward, and is a manager.
Beginning his career at Real Sociedad, he appeared in 254 official matches during his tenure while com ...
(playing against Italy)
Medal table and Olympic qualifiers
* France, Italy and Spain qualify for Olympic Games finals.
* Best losing quarter-finalists Hungary and Portugal also qualify.
* Scotland do not compete in the Olympic Football Tournament (See ''
Great Britain Olympic football team
The Great Britain men's Olympic football team is the men's football team that represents the United Kingdom at the Summer Olympic Games (where it competes as Great Britain, currently branded Team GB). The team is organised by the English Footb ...
'').
External links
Results Archive''at uefa.com''
''at rsssf.com
{{UEFA European Under-21 Championship
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
International association football competitions hosted by Spain
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
May 1996 sports events in Europe
1990s in Barcelona
Football in Barcelona
1996 in youth association football
Sports competitions in Barcelona
1996 in Catalan sport