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1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Spain
Dates	12 March – 31 May
Teams	8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Italy (3rd title)
Runners-up	Spain
Third place	France
Fourth place	Scotland
Tournament statistics
Matches played	12
Goals scored	28 (2.33 per match)
Attendance	197,229 (16,436 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Raúl (3 goals)
Best player(s)	Fabio Cannavaro
← 1994 1998 →

The 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1994–96), had 44 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, Spain 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 rule in Europe in the early 1990s.

Russia, who competed in 1994 were joined by nine further former Soviet Union states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine.

The exclusion (for political reasons) of the team from Serbia and Montenegro, then known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continued. Croatia, Slovenia and the Republic of Macedonia were three former states of Yugoslavia who did compete though.

Czechoslovakia became two separate nations – teams from the Czech Republic and Slovakia 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

Country	Qualified as	Previous appearances in tournament
France	Group 1 winner	5 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994)
Spain	Group 2 winner	5 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990)
Hungary	Group 3 winner	3 (1978, 1980, 1986)
Italy	Group 4 winner	9 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994)
Czech Republic	Group 5 winner	6 (1978, 1980, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994)
Portugal	Group 6 winner	1 (1994)
Germany	Group 7 winner	3 (1982, 1990, 1992)
Scotland	Group 8 winner	4 (1980, 1982, 1984, 1988)

Bold indicates champion for that year

As Czechoslovakia

As West Germany

Squads

Results

Quarter-finals

First leg

Hungary	2–1	Scotland
Szanyó 14' Zavadszky 79'	Report	Glass 34'

Germany	0–0	France
	Report

Portugal	1–0	Italy
Porfírio 18'	Report

Spain	2–1	Czech Republic
Dani 28' Roberto 41'	Report	Šmicer 50'

Second leg

Scotland	3–1	Hungary
Dailly 42' Hamilton 84' Donnelly 86'	Report	Egressy 30'

France	4–1	Germany
Pires 28', 32' Maurice 41', 70'	Report	Nerlinger 76' (pen.)

Italy	2–0	Portugal
Vieri 41' Peixe 55' (o.g.)	Report

Czech Republic	1–2	Spain
Vágner 54'	Report	Raúl 71', 89'

Semi-finals

Italy	1–0	France
Totti 49'	Report

Spain	2–1	Scotland
Óscar 26' De la Peña 35'	Report	Marshall 28'

Third-place play-off

France	1–0	Scotland
Moreau 50'	Report

Final

Italy	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Spain
Totti 11'	Report	Raúl 42'
Penalties
Panucci Pistone Fresi Nesta Morfeo	4–2	De la Peña De Pedro Aranzábal Raúl

Goalscorers

3 goals

• Raúl

2 goals

• Francesco Totti
• Florian Maurice
• Robert Pires

1 goal

• Vladimír Šmicer
• Robert Vágner
• Patrick Moreau
• Christian Nerlinger
• Gábor Egressy
• Károly Szanyó
• Gábor Zavadszky
• Christian Vieri
• Hugo Porfírio
• Dani
• Óscar
• Iván de la Peña
• Roberto Fresnedoso
• Christian Dailly
• Simon Donnelly
• Stephen Glass
• Jim Hamilton
• Scott Marshall

Own goal

• Emílio Peixe (playing against Italy)
• Iñigo Idiakez (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).

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
	Italy	4	2	1	1	4	2	+2	5	Gold medal
	Spain (H)	4	3	1	0	7	4	+3	7	Silver medal
	France	4	2	1	1	5	2	+3	5	Bronze medal
4	Scotland	4	1	0	3	5	6	−1	2	Fourth place
5	Hungary	2	1	0	1	3	4	−1	2	Eliminated in quarter-finals
6	Portugal	2	1	0	1	1	2	−1	2
7	Germany	2	0	1	1	1	4	−3	1
8	Czech Republic	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	0

External links

• Results Archive at uefa.com
• RSSSF Results Archive at rsssf.com

• 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship
• International association football competitions hosted by Spain
• 1994–95 in European football
• 1995–96 in European football
• Football qualification for the 1996 Summer Olympics
• May 1996 sports events in Europe
• 1990s in Barcelona
• 1996 in youth association football
• Football competitions in Barcelona
• 1996 in Catalan sport