2025-27 Under 21 EURO qualifying group stage: Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain reach finals
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
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Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain qualified to join co-hosts Albania and Serbia with eight more teams going into the play-offs.
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The UEFA European Under 21 Championship qualifying group stage is complete with ten teams booking final tournament spots alongside co-hosts Albania and Serbia and eight more nations going into November's play-off.
Belgium, Croatia, holders England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Spain won their groups to join the two co-hosts in the finals from 16 June to 3 July. Also through are Poland, who finished as the best runners-up (not counting results against sixth-place teams).
The other eight runners-up are Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Türkiye. They go into the play-off draw at 11:00 CET on Friday, with the winners of the four two-legged ties to claim the last final tournament berths,
Who has qualified or reached the play-offs?
Qualified for final tournament: Albania (co-hosts), Belgium, Croatia, England (holders), France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland (best runners-up), Portugal, Serbia (co-hosts), Spain
Play-offs: Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Türkiye
How U21 EURO qualifying works
The nine group winners and the runners-up with the best record (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) have qualified directly for the final tournament to join co-hosts Albania and Serbia. The eight other runners-up contest play-offs to determine the four remaining finalists.
U21 EURO qualifying groups
Group A: Spain (qualified for final tournament), Finland (play-offs), Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, San Marino
Going into Tuesday's deciders, Spain led Finland by two points with both confirmed in the top two. And Spain booked their finals spot with a 7-1 win against Romania, aided by a Pablo García hat-trick, while play-off bound Finland equalised four times in a 4-4 draw in Kosovo.
Group B: Portugal (qualified for final tournament), Czechia (play-offs), Scotland, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Gibraltar
Portugal sealed their finals spot with a game to go thanks to a 4-0 defeat of Gibraltar on Wednesday. Czechia will go into the play-offs after beating Bulgaria 1-0 to end their opponents' chances and also those of Scotland, despite a 5-2 win against Azerbaijan. The group ended with Portugal beating Czechia 2-0.
Group C: France (qualified for final tournament), Iceland (play-offs), Switzerland, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Estonia
France won 2-0 in Estonia last Tuesday and then defeated Luxembourg 3-2 on Saturday to ensure qualification. And France ended with the only unbeaten record across the groups as Mathys Tel's hat-trick gave them a 7-1 victory against Switzerland. That allowed Iceland, who beat Switzerland 5-1 last week, to overtake them for second place with a 2-0 win against the Faroe Islands.
Group D: England (qualified for final tournament), Republic of Ireland (play-offs), Slovakia, Moldova, Andorra, Kazakhstan
England, aiming to win a third straight title, have qualified for an unprecedented 11th edition in a row after Friday's 0-0 draw against Slovakia. And second place went to the Republic of Ireland, who having already won 2-0 in Slovakia and defeated Kazakhstan 4-3 in a thriller in this window, ended England's unbeaten record with a 3-1 victory in Cork to reach the play-offs for only the second time. Slovakia's last-gasp 2-1 win in Andorra was in vain as they ended behind Ireland on head-to-head record.
Group E: Italy (qualified for final tournament), Poland (qualified for final tournament as best runners-up), Sweden, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Armenia
Having prevailed 1-0 in Armenia last Thursday with a goal deep in added time to stay in first-place contention, Italy still needed to win by a two-goal margin on Monday against Poland, who held a perfect nine victories and had conceded only twice. And Italy won 6-2 in Pescara including two goals by Cher Ndour (one from deep inside his own half) to finish top on head-to-head record, Poland having beaten the Azzurrini 2-1 in a dramatic late comeback last November. However, results on Tuesday meant Poland were confirmed in the finals as best runners-up.
Group F: Germany (qualified for final tournament), Greece (play-offs), Northern Ireland, Georgia, Latvia, Malta
Germany and Greece went into Tuesday's deciders level on points. And Germany, leading on head-to-head goal difference, won 2-0 against Georgia in front of more than 20,000 fans in Bielefeld to qualify. Greece's 1-0 victory in Northern Ireland left them one goal short of finishing as best runners-up, so they go into the play-offs.
Group G: Norway (qualified for final tournament), Netherlands (play-offs), Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia
Norway qualified lastTuesday when they won 6-1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Three teams were still in the race for second place and it went to the Netherlands as they scored four goals in the last 20 minutes to defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina, overtaking Israel, who drew 1-1 in Norway.
Group H: Croatia (qualified for final tournament), Türkiye (play-offs), Ukraine, Hungary, Lithuania
Croatia qualified for the fourth time in five editions after last Saturday's 3-1 win against Hungary, courtesy of an Adriano Jagušić hat-trick. On the same day, Türkiye – the only side that could still have caught Croatia – spurned a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw against Ukraine. However, that result meant Türkiye clinched second place ahead of Ukraine and will take part in the play-offs with a chance to reach the finals for the first time since 2000. Ukraine did at least finish their campaign with a 1-0 defeat of Croatia on Friday.
Group I: Belgium (qualified for final tournament), Denmark (play-offs), Austria, Wales, Belarus
Going into the final day in this tight group, Belgium led Denmark by two points, with Austria three further behind and still in play-off contention. Belgium clinched first place with a 0-0 draw in Denmark, who finished a point ahead of Austria, their 7-1 victory in Wales in vain.
Team guide
- England retained the title in 2025 to claim their fourth triumph, one short of the record jointly held by Italy and Spain.
- Germany were runners-up in 2025, while France and the Netherlands were beaten in the semi-finals and Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Spain all reached the last eight. Finland, Czechia, Georgia, Poland, Romania, hosts Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine also took part in the final tournament.
U21 EURO qualifying dates
Qualifying group stage
▪ 5-10 June 2025
▪ 4-9 September 2025
▪ 9-14 October 2025
▪ 13-18 November 2025
▪ 26-31 March 2026
▪ 24 September-6 October 2026
Play-offs
▪ 9-17 November 2026 (draw 11:00 CET, 9 October)