England at the European Under-21 Football Championship

England's European Under-21 Football Championship Record includes winning the European Under-21 Football Championship twice, in 1982 and 1984. England's Under-21s have also been losing semi-finalists on four occasions, and got knocked out in the finals group stage twice. On seven occasions, including the 2004 and the 2006 finals, England have failed to qualify.

About the competition

From 1978 to 1992 there was no finals tournament. Instead, the competition took place as follows: UEFA divided all entrant countries into eight groups. Eight group winners were determined on a points basis after all teams played each other both home and away. Two points were awarded for a win throughout this period. The eight group winners were paired off and played each other as a knockout competition on a two-legged home & away basis. The final was two-legged.

From 1994 there has been a finals tournament and a single host nation, always chosen from the eventual qualifiers. In 1994 and 1996 there were four teams in the finals, but since 1998, there has been eight.

Qualification for 1998 to 2002 involved nine groups, with a playoff between the two group winners with worst records to reduce the count to eight. In 1998 alone, the tournament was a single-legged knockout from the Quarter Finals onwards. 2000 brought about the same finals as we have today - two groups of four, group winners playing the other group's runners-up in the Semi-Finals.

2004 - the top nation of each of ten groups plus the six best runners-up played-off for eight finals spots. 2006 provided a more simple qualification process - eight groups, with the winners playing a runner-up. 2007's one-year competition meant a shortened qualification process; between playoffs eliminating the eight weakest and seven of the strongest nations, 14 three-team groups were made. Each team played once at home and once away.

Note: Until 2006, all tournaments have been two-year campaigns. The year represents the year in which the finals actually took place.

Summary	P	W	D*	L	F	A
Qualification Stage	108	68	24	16	217	95
Finals matches	40	18	11	11	60	52
Total	148	86	35	27	277	147

Statistics correct as of June 21, 2007
* Draws include 1 loss in a penalty shootout

1978 - Reached Semi Final

Main article: 1978 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Yugoslavia won. Qualifying Group 5 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 4 4 0 0 17 2 8 2 Norway 4 2 0 2 6 9 4 3 Finland 4 0 0 4 2 14 0

Finland 0-1 England Norway 1-2 England England 6-0 Norway England 8-1 Finland England qualify as group winners

Quarter Final England 2-1 Italy Italy 0-0 England England win 2-1 on aggregate

Semi Final Yugoslavia 2-1 England England 1-1 Yugoslavia England lose 3-2 on aggregate

England finish equal third

1980 - Reached Semi Final

Main article: 1980 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Soviet Union won.

Qualifying Group 1 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 4 4 0 0 11 2 8 2 Denmark 4 1 0 3 3 4 2 3 Bulgaria 4 1 0 3 2 10 2

Denmark 1-2 England Bulgaria 1-3 England England 1-0 Denmark England 5-0 Bulgaria England qualify as group winners

Quarter Final England 2-1 Scotland Scotland 0-0 England England win 2-1 on aggregate

Semi Final England 1-2 East Germany East Germany 1-0 England England lose 3-1 on aggregate

England finish equal third

1982 - Winners

Main article: 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Qualifying Group 4 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 6 4 1 1 12 5 9 2 Hungary 6 3 0 3 12 9 6 3 Romania 6 2 1 3 9 12 5 4 Switzerland 6 1 2 3 5 12 4

Romania 4-0 England England 5-0 Switzerland England 3-0 Romania Switzerland 0-0 England Hungary 1-2 England England 2-0 Hungary England qualify as group winners

Quarter Final Poland 1-2 England England 2-2 Poland England win 4-3 on aggregate

Semi Final Scotland 0-1 England England 1-1 Scotland England win 2-1 on aggregate

Final England 3-1 West Germany West Germany 3-2 England England win 5-4 on aggregate England finish as Champions

1984 - Winners

Main article: 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Qualifying Group 3 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 6 5 0 1 13 4 10 2 Greece 6 3 2 1 6 4 8 3 Hungary 6 1 1 4 7 8 3 4 Denmark 6 1 1 4 6 16 3

Denmark 1-4 England Greece 1-0 England England 2-1 Greece England 1-0 Hungary England 4-1 Denmark Hungary 0-2 England England qualify as group winners

Quarter Final England 6-1 France France 0-1 England England win 7-1 on aggregate

Semi Final England 3-1 Italy Italy 0-1 England England win 3-2 on aggregate

Final Spain 0-1 England England 2-0 Spain England win 3-0 on aggregate England finish as Champions

1986 - Reached Semi Final

Main article: 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Spain won.

Qualifying Group 3 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 6 3 2 1 9 3 8 2 Finland 6 1 4 1 6 6 6 3 Romania 6 1 4 1 5 7 6 4 Turkey 6 0 4 2 3 7 4

England 2-0 Finland Turkey 0-0 England Romania 0-0 England Finland 3-1 England England 3-0 Romania England 3-0 Turkey England qualify as group winners

Quarter Final Denmark 0-1 England England 1-1 Denmark England win 2-1 on aggregate

Semi Final Italy 3-1 England England 1-1 Italy England lose 2-1 on aggregate

England finish equal third

1988 - Reached Semi Final

Main article: 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

France won.

Qualifying Group 4 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 4 1 3 0 7 3 5 2 Turkey 4 1 2 1 4 6 4 3 Yugoslavia 4 1 1 2 7 9 3

England 1-1 Yugoslavia Turkey 0-0 England England 1-1 Turkey Yugoslavia 1-5 England England qualify as group winners

Quarter Final Scotland 0-1 England England 1-0 Scotland England win 2-0 on aggregate

Semi Final France 4-2 England England 2-2 France England lose 6-4 on aggregate

England finish equal third

1990 - Did not qualify

Main article: 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Soviet Union won. Qualifying Group 2 P W D L F A Pts 1 Sweden 6 4 2 0 10 2 10 2 England 6 4 1 1 10 5 9 3 Poland 6 1 2 3 4 10 6 4 Albania 6 0 1 5 1 8 1

England 1-1 Sweden Albania 1-2 England England 2-0 Albania England 2-1 Poland Sweden 1-0 England Poland 1-3 England England finish second and fail to qualify

1992 - Did not qualify

Main article: 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Italy won. Qualifying Group 7 P W D L F A Pts 1 Poland 6 6 0 0 10 2 12 2 England 6 3 1 2 11 5 7 3 Turkey 6 1 1 4 6 11 3 4 Republic of Ireland 6 1 0 5 5 14 2

England 0-1 Poland Ireland 3-0 England England 3-0 Ireland Turkey 2-2 England England 2-0 Turkey Poland 2-1 England England finish second and fail to qualify

1994 in France - Did not qualify

Main article: 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Italy won. Qualifying Group 2 P W D L F A Pts 1 Poland 10 7 0 3 26 10 21 2 Turkey 10 6 2 2 15 10 20 3 Norway 10 6 1 3 20 13 19 4 England 10 4 3 3 20 8 15 5 Netherlands 10 3 2 5 11 14 11 6 San Marino 10 0 0 10 3 40 0

England 0-2 Norway England 0-1 Turkey England 6-0 San Marino Turkey 0-0 England England 3-0 Netherlands Poland 1-4 England Norway 1-1 England England 1-2 Poland Netherlands 1-1 England San Marino 0-4 England England finish fourth and fail to qualify

1996 in Spain - Did not qualify

Main article: 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Italy won. Qualifying Group 6 P W D L F A Pts 1 Portugal 8 6 2 0 14 2 20 2 England 8 6 1 1 13 4 19 3 Republic of Ireland 8 2 2 4 7 9 8 4 Austria 8 2 1 5 5 11 7 5 Latvia 8 0 2 6 1 14 2

England 0-0 Portugal Austria 1-3 England England 1-0 Ireland Ireland 0-2 England Latvia 0-1 England England 4-0 Latvia Portugal 2-0 England England 2-1 Austria England finish second and fail to qualify

1998 in Romania - Reached 8th place playoff

Main article: 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Spain won. Qualifying Group 2 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 8 5 3 0 7 1 18 2 Georgia 8 3 3 2 10 20 12 3 Italy 8 3 2 3 17 6 11 4 Poland 8 1 5 2 10 15 8 5 Moldova 8 1 1 1 5 17 4

Moldova 0-2 England England 0-0 Poland Georgia 0-1 England England 1-0 Italy England 0-0 Georgia Poland 1-1 England England 1-0 Moldova Italy 0-1 England England qualify from the group as winners

Group Winners P W D L F A Pts 1 Romania 6 6 0 0 14 4 18 2 Spain 6 5 1 0 14 6 16 3 Sweden 6 5 0 1 18 4 15 4 Norway 6 4 2 0 18 7 14 5 Germany 6 4 2 0 12 3 13 6 Netherlands 6 4 1 1 13 5 13 7 Russia 6 4 1 1 12 6 13 8 Greece 6 4 0 2 11 7 12 9 England 6 3 3 0 4 1 12

Left: List of qualifying group winners, used to determine the two group winners with worst records. Teams 1-7 qualify automatically. Teams 8 & 9 play-off for the eighth spot. Only results between the top four team are used for this table. Eighth place Playoff Greece 2-0 England England 4-2 Greece England lose on away goals England finish ninth

2000 in Slovakia - Reached Finals Group Stage

Main article: 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Italy won. Qualifying Group 5 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 8 7 0 1 23 3 21 2 Poland 8 5 2 1 21 12 17 3 Bulgaria 8 4 2 2 17 9 14 4 Sweden 8 2 0 6 17 9 6 5 Luxembourg 8 0 0 8 0 29 0

Sweden 0-2 England England 1-0 Bulgaria Luxembourg 0-5 England England 5-0 Poland England 3-0 Sweden Bulgaria 0-1 England England 5-0 Luxembourg Poland 3-1 England England qualify from the group as winners

Nine group winners + seven best runners-up played-off. England were drawn against Yugoslavia, then in a state of civil unrest. For safety reasons, a single fixture on neutral ground was deemed fairest. This was held at FC Barcelona B's "Mini Estadi", next to the Nou Camp.

England 3-0 Yugoslavia England qualify for the Final Tournament

Finals Group B P W D L F A Pts 1 Italy 3 2 1 0 6 2 7 2 Slovakia 3 2 1 0 5 2 7 3 England 3 1 0 2 6 4 2 4 Turkey 3 0 0 3 2 11 0

England 0-2 Italy England 6-0 Turkey England 0-2 Slovakia England finish third in the group and fail to progress England finish equal fifth overall

2002 in Switzerland - Reached Finals Group Stage

Czech Republic won. Qualifying Group 9 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 8 5 2 1 18 8 17 2 Greece 8 5 1 2 14 6 16 3 Germany 8 5 1 2 18 7 16 4 Finland 8 1 1 6 7 20 4 5 Albania 8 1 1 6 3 19 4

England 1-1 Germany Finland 2-2 England England 4-0 Finland Albania 0-1 England Greece 3-1 England Germany 1-2 England England 5-0 Albania England 2-1 Greece England qualify from the group as winners

Qualification Playoff

• Netherlands 2-2 England
• England 1-0 Netherlands

England win 3-2 on aggregate and qualify for the Final Tournament

Finals Group 1 P W D L F A Pts 1 Italy 3 1 2 0 3 2 5 2 Switzerland 3 1 1 1 3 2 4 3 Portugal 3 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 England 3 1 0 2 4 6 3

England 2-1 Switzerland England 1-2 Italy England 1-3 Portugal England finish fourth in the group and fail to progress England finish equal seventh overall

2004 in Germany - Did not qualify

Main article: 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Italy won. Qualifying Group 7 P W D L F A Pts 1 Turkey 8 7 1 0 18 5 22 2 Portugal 8 6 0 2 20 11 18 3 England 8 3 2 3 14 10 11 4 Slovakia 8 3 2 3 6 16 6 5 Macedonia 8 0 1 7 4 23 1

Slovakia 0-4 England England 3-1 Macedonia Portugal 4-2 England England 1-1 Turkey England 2-0 Slovakia Macedonia 1-1 England England 1-2 Portugal Turkey 1-0 England England finish third and fail to qualify

2006 in Portugal - Reached Qualification playoff

Main article: 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification

Finals tournament yet to take place. Qualifying Group 6 P W D L F A Pts 1 Germany 10 7 3 0 24 5 24 2 England 10 6 3 1 21 7 21 3 Poland 10 3 4 3 18 18 13 4 Austria 10 3 2 5 9 14 11 5 Wales 10 3 1 6 9 21 10 6 Azerbaijan 10 0 3 7 1 17 3

Austria 0-2 England Poland 1-3 England England 2-0 Wales Azerbaijan 0-0 England England 2-2 Germany England 2-0 Azerbaijan Wales 0-4 England Germany 1-1 England England 1-2 Austria England 4-1 Poland England qualify from the group in second place

Qualification Playoff England 1-1 France France 2-1 England England lose 3-2 on aggregate

England finish equal ninth

2007 in the Netherlands - Reached Semi Final

Main article: 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification

Qualifying Group 8 P W D L F A Pts 1 England 2 1 1 0 5 4 4 2 Switzerland 2 1 0 1 5 4 3 3 Moldova 2 0 1 1 3 5 1

England 2-2 Moldova Tuesday August 15, 2006 Switzerland 2-3 England Wednesday September 6, 2006 England qualify from the group as winners

Qualification Playoff

• England 1-0 Germany
• Germany 0-2 England

England win 3-0 on aggregate and qualify for the Final Tournament

Main article: 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

Group B P W D L F A Pts 1 Serbia 3 2 0 1 2 2 6 2 England 3 1 2 0 4 2 5 3 Italy 3 1 1 1 5 4 4 4 Czech Republic 3 0 1 2 1 4 1

Czech Rep 0-0 England Monday June 11, 2007 England 2-2 Italy Thursday June 14, 2006 England 2-0 Serbia Sunday June 17, 2006 England qualify from the group as runners-up

Semi-final England 1-1 Netherlands England lose 13-12 on penalties

England finish joint-third

See also

• England national Under-21 Football team
• England national (senior) Football team
• European Under-21 Football Championship

External links

• Official FA England Under-21 website Contains listings of current England U-21 players.
• Uefa Under-21 website Contains full results archive
• England Football Online England Senior team information.
• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21 Championship hosts and additional statistics, such as the Group Winners table for the 1998 qualifiers.