2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship — 22nd UEFA European U-21 Championship
The 22nd UEFA European Under-21 Championship doubled as European qualification for the 2020 Summer Olympics men's football tournament.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 22nd UEFA European Under-21 Championship
- Host nations
- Italy and San Marino
- Teams participating
- 12
- Player eligibility cutoff
- Born on or after 1 January 1996
- Olympic spots awarded
- 4 (top four teams)
- VAR debut
- First use of VAR at UEFA U-21 Championship
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
UEFA selected Italy (with San Marino) as host on 9 December 2016 in Nyon, Switzerland. Germany entered as defending champions, and UEFA scheduled the tournament in mid-2019, one year before the Tokyo Olympics, following the established tradition of using the Under-21 Championship as Olympic qualification.
Twelve European under-21 national teams competed in Italy and San Marino in the summer of 2019. The tournament featured players born on or after 1 January 1996 and introduced the video assistant referee (VAR) system to the UEFA Under-21 Championship for the first time.
The four teams that advanced to the knockout stage secured berths in the 2020 Summer Olympic men's football tournament in Japan, where they would compete as under-23 sides with up to three overage players. The use of VAR marked a significant step in applying the technology across UEFA youth competitions.