2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Poland in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament final.^[1]

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification

Tournament details
Dates	26 March 2015 – 15 November 2016
Teams	52 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	254
Goals scored	713 (2.81 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Patrik Schick (10 goals)
← 2015 2019 →

A total of 52 UEFA member national teams entered the qualifying competition, with Gibraltar as the only absentee.^[2] Players born on or after 1 January 1994 are eligible to participate.

Format

The qualifying competition consists of two rounds:^[3]

• Qualifying group stage: The 52 teams are drawn into nine groups – seven groups of six teams and two groups of five teams. Each group is played in home-and-away round-robin format. The nine group winners qualify directly for the tournament final, while the four best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) advance to the play-offs.
• Play-offs: The four teams are drawn into two ties to play home-and-away two-legged matches to determine the last two qualified teams.

Tiebreakers

The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of a group, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 14.01):^[3]

1. Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
2. Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
3. Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question;
4. Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
5. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the group matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
6. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
7. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
8. Higher number of away goals scored in all group matches;
9. Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
10. Position in the UEFA Under-21 national team coefficient ranking for the qualifying group stage draw.

To determine the four best runners-up from the qualifying group stage, the results against the teams in sixth place are discarded. The following criteria are applied (Regulations Article 14.02):^[3]

1. Higher number of points;
2. Superior goal difference;
3. Higher number of goals scored;
4. Higher number of away goals scored;
5. Lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
6. Position in the UEFA Under-21 national team coefficient ranking for the qualifying group stage draw.

In the play-offs, the team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs qualifies for the tournament final. If the aggregate score is level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e., the team that scores more goals away from home over the two legs advances. If away goals are also equal, extra time is played. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e., if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team advances by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (Regulations Articles 15.01 and 15.02).^[3]

Schedule

The qualifying matches are played on dates that fall within the FIFA International Match Calendar.^[1]

Stage	FIFA International Dates
Qualifying group stage	23–31 March 2015
	8–16 June 2015
	31 August – 8 September 2015
	5–13 October 2015
	9–17 November 2015
	21–29 March 2016
	29 August – 6 September 2016
	3–11 October 2016
Play-offs	7–15 November 2016

Qualifying group stage

Draw

The draw for the qualifying group stage was held on 5 February 2015, 09:00 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^[4][5]

The teams were seeded according to their coefficient ranking calculation based on the following:^[6]

• 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament final and qualifying competition
• 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament final and qualifying competition
• 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition

Groups 1–7 each contained one team from each of Pots A–F, and Group 8–9 each contained one team from each of Pots A–E. Precautions: certain national teams were not drawn up in the same group. Azerbaijan and Armenia continued to dispute the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and Russia's continued 2014-15 intervention in Ukraine.^[2]

tournament final hosts

Team	Coeff	Rank
Poland	25,402	24

Teams entering qualifying group stage

Pot A Team Coeff Rank   Spain 41,470 1   England 36,252 2   Italy 36,129 3   Germany 35,370 4   France 35,107 5   Czech Republic 34,516 6   Portugal 33,887 7   Netherlands 33,422 8   Denmark 31,989 9	Pot B Team Coeff Rank   Russia 31,346 10   Switzerland 31,296 11   Sweden 30,365 12   Serbia 29,837 13   Israel 29,766 14   Ukraine 28,950 15   Slovakia 27,982 16   Romania 27,668 17   Belgium 27,539 18	Pot C Team Coeff Rank   Turkey 27,497 19   Slovenia 27,252 20   Austria 27,177 21   Greece 26,982 22   Scotland 25,812 23   Croatia 25,286 25   Norway 24,859 26   Armenia 24,441 27   Montenegro 24,402 28
Pot D Team Coeff Rank   Finland 23,851 29   Wales 23,818 30   Hungary 23,776 31   Iceland 23,521 32   Bosnia and Herzegovina 22,912 33   Georgia 22,606 34   Moldova 22,431 35   Republic of Ireland 21,936 36   Belarus 20,638 37	Pot E Team Coeff Rank   Bulgaria 20,317 38   Cyprus 18,809 39   Macedonia 18,126 40   Lithuania 17,511 41   Azerbaijan 17,414 42   Kazakhstan 17,076 43   Albania 16,014 44   Latvia 15,836 45   Estonia 15,726 46	Pot F Team Coeff Rank   Faroe Islands 14,896 47   Northern Ireland 14,651 48   Luxembourg 11,251 49   Malta 10,838 50   San Marino 10,163 51   Andorra 8,950 52   Liechtenstein 8,125 53

Notes

• Teams marked in bold have qualified for the tournament final.

Did not enter

Team	Coeff	Rank
Gibraltar	0	54

Groups

  The nine group winners qualified directly for the tournament final.

  The four best group runners-up (not counting results against sixth-placed team) advanced to the play-offs.

Group 1

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 1

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Czech Republic	10	7	2	1	29	10	+19	23	Final tournament		—	1–0	3–3	4–1	2–1	4–1
2	Belgium	10	6	0	4	14	11	+3	18			2–1	—	1–2	2–0	0–1	2–1
3	Montenegro	10	4	4	2	13	11	+2	16			0–3	3–0	—	0–0	3–3	1–0
4	Malta	10	3	2	5	9	20	−11	11			0–7	2–3	0–1	—	1–0	3–2
5	Latvia	10	2	3	5	10	13	−3	9			1–1	0–2	0–0	1–2	—	0–2
6	Moldova	10	2	1	7	8	18	−10	7			1–3	0–2	1–0	0–0	0–3	—

Source: UEFA

Group 2

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 2

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	10	7	3	0	17	3	+14	24	Final tournament		—	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	3–0
2	Serbia	10	7	2	1	27	8	+19	23	Play-offs		1–1	—	3–1	3–2	5–0	5–0
3	Slovenia	10	5	0	5	18	11	+7	15			0–3	2–0	—	3–1	3–0	4–0
4	Republic of Ireland	10	4	0	6	14	17	−3	12			1–4	1–3	2–0	—	3–0	1–0
5	Lithuania	10	3	1	6	5	17	−12	10			0–0	0–2	1–0	3–1	—	1–0
6	Andorra	10	1	0	9	1	26	−25	3			0–1	0–4	0–5	0–2	1–0	—

Source: UEFA

Group 3

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Macedonia	10	6	3	1	13	7	+6	21	Final tournament		—	2–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	2–0
2	France	10	6	2	2	17	8	+9	20			1–1	—	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–0
3	Iceland	10	5	3	2	13	9	+4	18			3–0	3–2	—	2–4	2–0	1–1
4	Ukraine	10	4	2	4	14	12	+2	14			0–2	1–0	0–1	—	4–0	1–1
5	Scotland	10	2	2	6	8	17	−9	8			0–1	1–2	0–0	2–2	—	3–1
6	Northern Ireland	10	0	2	8	6	18	−12	2			1–2	0–3	0–1	1–2	1–2	—

Source: UEFA

Group 4

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	10	8	2	0	34	5	+29	26	Final tournament		—	0–0	1–0	4–0	2–0	4–0
2	Israel	10	6	3	1	21	4	+17	21			0–3	—	4–0	4–0	3–0	4–0
3	Greece	10	4	1	5	13	14	−1	13			0–4	0–1	—	2–1	3–1	5–0
4	Albania	10	3	3	4	11	20	−9	12			1–6	1–1	0–0	—	2–1	2–0
5	Hungary	10	3	3	4	19	16	+3	12			3–3	0–0	2–1	2–2	—	4–0
6	Liechtenstein	10	0	0	10	1	40	−39	0			1–7	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	—

Source: UEFA

Group 5

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	10	9	1	0	24	3	+21	28	Final tournament		—	1–0	3–1	0–0	4–1	2–0
2	Bulgaria	10	5	2	3	11	7	+4	17			0–3	—	2–0	0–0	3–0	2–0
3	Romania	10	5	1	4	15	14	+1	16			0–3	0–2	—	2–1	4–0	3–0
4	Wales	10	4	4	2	14	12	+2	16			0–4	3–1	1–1	—	1–1	2–1
5	Luxembourg	10	1	3	6	5	18	−13	6			0–1	0–0	0–1	1–3	—	1–0
6	Armenia	10	0	1	9	6	21	−15	1			1–3	0–1	2–3	1–3	1–1	—

Source: UEFA

Group 6

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sweden	10	7	3	0	24	7	+17	24	Final tournament		—	1–1	4–2	3–2	5–0	3–0
2	Spain	10	7	2	1	31	9	+22	23	Play-offs		1–1	—	0–3	5–0	5–0	6–0
3	Croatia	10	6	2	2	24	11	+13	20			1–1	2–3	—	1–0	2–1	4–0
4	Georgia	10	4	1	5	17	17	0	13			0–1	2–5	2–2	—	3–0	4–0
5	Estonia	10	1	1	8	3	26	−23	4			0–3	0–2	0–4	0–1	—	0–0
6	San Marino	10	0	1	9	1	30	−29	1			0–2	0–3	0–3	0–3	1–2	—

Source: UEFA

Group 7

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 7

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	10	10	0	0	35	8	+27	30	Final tournament		—	4–2	4–0	3–1	4–3	4–1
2	Austria	10	7	1	2	22	12	+10	22	Play-offs		1–4	—	2–0	7–0	4–3	1–0
3	Finland	10	4	2	4	13	10	+3	14			0–1	0–1	—	0–0	2–0	3–0
4	Azerbaijan	10	2	3	5	8	19	−11	9			0–3	0–2	0–1	—	3–0	1–1
5	Russia	10	2	3	5	15	19	−4	9			0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0
6	Faroe Islands	10	0	1	9	3	28	−25	1			0–6	0–1	1–6	0–1	0–3	—

Source: UEFA

Group 8

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Slovakia	8	6	1	1	21	6	+15	19	Final tournament		—	4–2	5–0	3–1	2–0
2	Netherlands	8	4	2	2	15	10	+5	14			1–3	—	0–0	1–0	4–0
3	Turkey	8	3	2	3	7	8	−1	11			1–1	0–1	—	1–0	0–1
4	Belarus	8	2	2	4	7	11	−4	8			1–0	2–2	0–2	—	2–2
5	Cyprus	8	1	1	6	4	19	−15	4			0–3	1–4	0–3	0–1	—

Source: UEFA

Group 9

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 9

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	8	6	2	0	20	3	+17	20	Final tournament		—	6–1	3–1	3–0	5–0
2	Norway	8	5	1	2	12	10	+2	16	Play-offs		0–1	—	2–1	2–1	2–0
3	Switzerland	8	3	3	2	11	8	+3	12			1–1	1–1	—	3–0	3–1
4	Kazakhstan	8	1	1	6	3	14	−11	4			0–1	0–3	0–1	—	0–0
5	Bosnia and Herzegovina	8	0	3	5	2	13	−11	3			0–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	—

Source: UEFA

Ranking of second-placed teams

To determine the four best second-placed teams from the qualifying group stage which advance to the play-offs, only the results of the second-placed teams against the first, third, fourth and fifth-placed teams in their group are taken into account, while results against the sixth-placed team (for groups with six teams) are not included. As a result, eight matches played by each second-placed team will count for the purposes of determining the ranking.^[7]

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	6	Spain	8	5	2	1	22	9	+13	17	Play-offs
2	2	Serbia	8	5	2	1	18	8	+10	17
3	7	Austria	8	5	1	2	20	12	+8	16
4	9	Norway	8	5	1	2	12	10	+2	16
5	4	Israel	8	4	3	1	13	4	+9	15
6	8	Netherlands	8	4	2	2	15	10	+5	14
7	3	France	8	4	2	2	13	8	+5	14
8	1	Belgium	8	4	0	4	10	10	0	12
9	5	Bulgaria	8	3	2	3	8	7	+1	11

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) away goals scored; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coefficient.

Play-offs

Main article: 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs

Draw

The draw for the play-offs was held on 14 October 2016, 13:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.^[8][9]

Matches

The two play-off winners qualify for the tournament final.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Serbia	2–1	Norway	2–0	0–1
Austria	1–1 (a)	Spain	1–1	0–0

Qualified teams

The following 12 teams qualify for the tournament final.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in tournament^1 only U-21 era (since 1978)
Poland	Hosts	26 January 2015^[1]	5 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1994)
Czech Republic	Group 1 winners	7 October 2016	12 (1978^2, 1980^2, 1988^2, 1990^2, 1992^2, 1994^2, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2015)
Italy	Group 2 winners	11 October 2016	18 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015)
Macedonia	Group 3 winners	11 October 2016	0 (debut)
Portugal	Group 4 winners	6 September 2016	7 (1994, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2015)
Denmark	Group 5 winners	6 September 2016	6 (1978, 1986, 1992, 2006, 2011, 2015)
Sweden	Group 6 winners	10 October 2016	7 (1986, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2015)
Germany	Group 7 winners	7 October 2016	10 (1982^3, 1990^3, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2015)
Slovakia	Group 8 winners	6 October 2016	7 (1978^2, 1980^2, 1988^2, 1990^2, 1992^2, 1994^2, 2000)
England	Group 9 winners	6 October 2016	13 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)
Serbia	Play-off winners	15 November 2016	9 (1978^4, 1980^4, 1984^4, 1990^4, 2004^5, 2006^5, 2007, 2009, 2015)
Spain	Play-off winners	15 November 2016	12 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2011, 2013)

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

² As Czechoslovakia

³ As West Germany

⁴ As Yugoslavia

⁵ As Serbia and Montenegro

Top goalscorers

Players with six goals or more.^[10]

10 goals

•   Patrik Schick

9 goals

•   Michael Gregoritsch
•   Uroš Đurđević

8 goals

•   Marcus Ingvartsen
•   Gerard Deulofeu

7 goals

•   Stipe Perica
•   Davie Selke
•   Munir

6 goals

•   Aleš Čermák
•   Nika Kacharava
•   Vincent Janssen

References

1. "Poland to host 2017 Under-21 EUROs". UEFA.com. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
2. "Seedings set for 2017 U21 qualifying draw". UEFA.com. 30 January 2015.
3. "Regulations of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, 2015–17" (PDF). UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
4. "Qualifying group stage draw". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
5. "2017 Under-21 qualifying group stage draw". UEFA.com. 5 February 2015.
6. "2015-17 UEFA European Under-21 Group Stage Draw" (PDF). UEFA.com. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
7. "Austria, Norway, Serbia, Spain in Friday U21 play-off draw". UEFA.com. 11 October 2016.
8. "Play-off draw". UEFA.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
9. "U21 play-offs: Serbia v Norway, Austria v Spain". UEFA.com. 14 October 2016.
10. "Statistics — Qualifying phase — Player statistics — Goals". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 November 2016.

External links

• Official website