The 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 12th staging of

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 ...

European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

. The final tournament was hosted by

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 ...

from 27 May to 4 June 2000. The tournament had 47 entrants.

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

competed for the first time. For the first time a finals tournament with two groups of four teams was held, with one of those teams,

, having been chosen as the hosts. The top four teams in this competition qualified for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

won the competition for the fourth time, thus qualified for the Olympic Games finals, alongside

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

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 ...

Qualification

The 47 national teams were divided into nine groups (seven groups of 5 + two groups of 6). The records of the nine group runners-up were then compared. The top seven joined the nine winners in a play-off for the eight finals spots. One of the eight qualifiers was then chosen to host the remaining fixtures.

Qualified teams

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year

² ''Italic'' indicates host for that year

³ England were originally scheduled to play two legs against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. However, the first leg which was supposed to have taken place in Belgrade was cancelled due to political tensions. An alternative leg in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

was also cancelled due to security reasons. A second leg at

Mini Estadi Miniestadi (, meaning in English "Mini Stadium"), officially named "Miniestadi", was a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The 15,276-seat stadium was situated across from Camp Nou, the home stadium of FC Barcelona. The stadium was ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

was held on 29 March 2000, which England won 3–0.

Squads

Venues

Four venues were selected for the competition.

Match officials

Seven match officials and nine assistants were selected for the competition, including two officials representing the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...

(AFC), Selearajen Subramaniam from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and Hamdi Al Kadri from Syria.

Matches

Group stage

Group A

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Group B

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Third place play-off

Final

Goalscorers

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük. Considered one of the best deep-lying playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his visio ...

was the top goalscorer of three goals. He was also announced as the UEFA Golden Player award recipient. ;3 goals *

;2 goals * Igor Tudor * Lukáš Došek *

David Jarolím David Jarolím (; born 17 May 1979 in Čáslav) is a Czech former footballer and manager of Ústí nad Labem. A central midfielder by position, Jarolím was known for his stamina, passing and technical skill. Club career Born in Caslav, Czecho ...

* Roberto Baronio * Peter Babnič ;1 goal * Darko Miladin *

Anthony Šerić Anthony Šerić (; born 15 January 1979) is a Croatian Australian former footballer who played as a left-back. He was a part of the Croatia national team at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. Early life Šerić was born to a Croatian fa ...

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...

* Tomáš Došek * Marek Jankulovski * Adam Petrouš *

Libor Sionko Libor Sionko (born 1 February 1977) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. At club level he started in his home town of Ostrava, playing for the youth teams of TJ Vítkovice and Baník Ostrava. Professionally, he ...

* Andy Campbell * Carl Cort *

Francis Jeffers Francis Jeffers (born 25 January 1981) is an English football coach and former player, who is a first-team coach at Oldham Athletic. Jeffers started his career at his boyhood club Everton, making his debut in 1997 as a 16 year old. After scori ...

Ledley King Ledley Brenton King (born 12 October 1980) is a former player who was a one-club man, spending his entire career at Tottenham Hotspur and playing 323 competitive matches for the club from 1999 to 2012. He is currently a club ambassador for Tot ...

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

Danny Mills Daniel John Mills (born 18 May 1977) is an English former professional footballer best known for his time at Leeds United. His main position was right-back, though he could also play as a centre-back. On 7 August 2009, he announced his retirem ...

* Gianni Comandini * Gionatha Spinesi * Nicola Ventola * Anthony Lurling * Mark van Bommel * Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink *

Miguel Ángel Angulo Miguel Ángel Angulo Valderrey (; born 23 June 1977) is a Spanish former professional footballer, currently manager of Valencia CF Mestalla. Predominantly an attacking midfielder, he was also able to play as a right winger and even as a right-b ...

Jordi Ferrón Jordi Ferrón Forné (born 15 August 1978) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played mainly as a right back, and current manager of the women's team of RCD Espanyol. Playing career Born in Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Fer ...

* Albert Luque *

Marián Čišovský Marián Čišovský (2 November 1979 – 28 June 2020) was a Slovak football defender, player of Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.Vratislav Greško *

Szilárd Németh Szilárd Németh (; ; born 8 August 1977) is a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a striker. After playing for clubs in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, he spent four-and-a-half seasons at Middlesbrough of the Premier League f ...

* Serhat Akın * Ahmet Dursun

Medal table and Olympic qualifiers

* Italy, Czechia, Spain and Slovakia qualified for Olympic Games finals.

References

External links

2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
at UEFA.com

at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation {{UEFA European Under-21 Championship UEFA European Under-21 Championship E

May 2000 sports events in Europe June 2000 sports events in Europe Sports competitions in Bratislava 2000s in Bratislava 2000 in youth association football