The last set of 2025–27 UEFA European Under 21 Championship qualifying group stage games are running until Tuesday 6 October, followed by November’s play-offs ahead of the final tournament from 16 June to 3 July in Albania and Serbia.
So far, Croatia, Norway and Portugal have qualified to join the two co-hosts in the finals. Czechia and Türkiye, meanwhile, are confirmed in November’s play-offs as they will finish second in their groups but cannot qualify directly as the best runner-up.
How U21 EURO qualifying works
The nine group winners and the runners-up with the best record (not counting results against sixth-placed teams) qualify 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.
State of play
Confirmed in final tournament: Albania (co-hosts), Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Serbia (co-hosts)
Confirmed in play-offs: Czechia, Türkiye
Confirmed in top two in group, can still qualify directly: Belgium, England (holders), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain
Qualifying scoresGroup A: Spain, Finland, Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, San Marino
Finland denied Spain the chance to qualify last Friday with a 2-1 victory and then won 2-0 in Romania on Wednesday to ensure a top-two finish. Spain, also now certain to finish at least second, briefly fell behind Finland but moved back two points ahead with Thursday’s 13-0 win in San Marino, Carlos Espí scoring a competition record-equalling five. It all now goes to Tuesday when Spain host Romania and Finland visit 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.
Group C: France, Switzerland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Estonia
Unbeaten France won 2-0 in Estonia on Tuesday to go three points clear of Switzerland, with a game in hand. Switzerland lost 5-1 in Iceland, who are now within two points of second place, though the Faroe Islands’ hopes of also staying in contention were ended by Wednesday’s 1-0 home loss to Luxembourg. France will look to qualify when they play their extra fixture on Saturday against Luxembourg and then host Switzerland to conclude next Tuesday, when Iceland visit the Faroe Islands.
Group D: England (holders), Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Andorra, Moldova, Kazakhstan
Aiming to win a third straight title, unbeaten England came from behind to beat Kazakhstan 4-2 last Friday and are now confirmed in the top two, having moved six points ahead of Slovakia, who lost 2-0 at home to the Republic of Ireland. On Tuesday, Ireland won a thriller 4-3 against Kazakhstan to go second, a point ahead of Slovakia, who will have a game in hand when they visit England on Friday to potentially decide first place.
Group E: Poland, Italy, Montenegro, Sweden, North Macedonia, Armenia
Poland boast the sole perfect record, with nine wins out of nine after defeating Sweden 3-0 on Wednesday. Italy, who lost 2-1 to the leaders in a dramatic late comeback last November, stayed in contention for first place as they won 1-0 in Armenia on Thursday with a goal deep in added time by Alphadjo Cisse (the Azzurrini having hit the woodwork multiple times and had a penalty saved). That sets up a straight group decider in Pescara on Monday which the home side must win by two goals to finish first.
Group F: Germany, Greece, Northern Ireland, Georgia, Latvia, Malta
Germany and Greece were both confirmed in the top two with wins last Saturday. And with a game each to go Germany continue to lead on head-to-head goal difference, their 4-1 away win against Malta on Wednesday followed by Greece beating Latvia 4-2 on Thursday. On Tuesday first place is decided as Germany welcome Georgia and Greece visit Northern Ireland.
Germany secured a crucial 2-0 win in Greece in March to take the head-to-head advantage having lost their home encounter 3-2Getty ImagesGroup G: Norway (qualified for final tournament), Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Netherlands, Slovenia
Having drawn 0-0 in the Netherlands on Friday, Norway qualified on Tuesday when they won 6-1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming from behind with four goals in the last 13 minutes. Israel are up to second, three points ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after a 3-2 win in Slovenia, who are now out of contention. The Netherlands can go to within a point of Israel if they win their game in hand in Slovenia on Friday. Next Tuesday, Norway host Israel and the Netherlands face Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Group H: Croatia (qualified for final tournament), Türkiye (play-offs), Ukraine, Hungary, Lithuania
Croatia have qualified for the fourth time in five editions after 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 means Türkiye have 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.
Group I: Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Wales, Belarus
Belgium won 1-0 against Wales on Tuesday to move three points clear of Denmark and six in front of Austria. Those two sides will now face off in their game in hand on Friday. Next Tuesday, Denmark host Belgium and Austria visit Wales to conclude the group.
Belgium’s Arthur Piedfort celebrates their win against AustriaBELGA MAG/AFP via Getty ImagesTeam guideEngland 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.A number of teams involved in qualifying began with hopes of joining co-hosts Albania in making a first final tournament appearance since the end of the old two-legged format in 1994: Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Northern Ireland, San Marino and Wales.
England’s road to Under 21 glory: Every goalU21 EURO qualifying datesQualifying 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)