UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Final Tournament

The final tournament will be held in the Czech Republic from 17 to 30 June 2015 at four stadiums – two in Prague, one in Olomouc and one in Uherské Hradiště. Eight qualified teams, consisting of players born on or after 1 January 1992, will participate.

The host country was chosen by the UEFA Executive Committee on 20 March 2012 in Instanbul, Turkey, so the Czech Republic national under-21 football team qualified automatically.

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Tournament format

The groups were drawn by the former Czech international Pavel Nedvěd.

A: Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Serbia

B: England, Italy, Portugal, Sweden

In each group, the teams will meet each other in a round-robin system. The top two teams in each group will advance. The winners will play the runners-up from the other group (A1-B2, B1-A2) in the semifinals. The losing semifinalists will get bronze medals, while the winners will contest the final.

All four semifinalists are automatically qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympic men’s football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. England is not an Olympic nation, so their team is ineligible for the Olympics. If they reach the semifinals, the last spot for the Olympic tournament will be given to the winner of the play-off game between the two third-placed teams from each group. 

To qualify for the Olympics always means a success. This is especially true for the German side, which has not been to Olympics since 1988. Getting to Rio is a target for the hosts as well.