| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Spain |
| Dates | 12 March – 31 May |
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Italy (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Spain |
| Third place |  France |
| Fourth place |  Scotland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 28 (2.33 per match) |
| Attendance | 197,229 (16,436 per match) |
| Top scorer | Raúl (3 goals) |
| Best player | Fabio Cannavaro |
←1994 1998 → | |
The1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1994–96), had 44 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage,Spain were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total.Italy U-21s won the competition for the third consecutive time.
No fewer than 13 newly independent nations competed for the first time – due mainly to the fall ofSocialist rule inEurope in the early 1990s.
Russia, who competed in1994 were joined by nine further formerSoviet Union states:Armenia,Azerbaijan,Belarus,Estonia,Georgia,Latvia,Lithuania,Moldova andUkraine.
The exclusion (for political reasons) of the team fromSerbia and Montenegro, then known as theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia continued.Croatia,Slovenia and theRepublic of Macedonia were three former states ofYugoslavia who did compete though.
Czechoslovakia became two separate nations – teams from theCzech Republic andSlovakia complete the list of new entrants.
The 44 national teams were divided into eight groups (four groups of 5 + four groups of 6). The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis to determine the final four, one of whom would host the last four matches. The top five nations qualify for theAtlanta '96 Olympics.
| Country | Qualified as | Previous appearances in tournament1 |
|---|---|---|
| France | Group 1 winner | 5 (1982,1984,1986,1988,1994) |
| Spain | Group 2 winner | 5 (1982,1984,1986,1988,1990) |
 Hungary | Group 3 winner | 3 (1978,1980,1986) |
| Italy | Group 4 winner | 9 (1978,1980,1982,1984,1986,1988,1990,1992,1994) |
 Czech Republic | Group 5 winner | 6 (19782,19802,19882,19902,19922,19942) |
 Portugal | Group 6 winner | 1 (1994) |
 Germany | Group 7 winner | 3 (19823,19903,1992) |
| Scotland | Group 8 winner | 4 (1980,1982,1984,1988) |
| Czech Republic | 1–2 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
Vágner 54' | Report | Raúl 71',89' |
| Italy | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Totti 11' | Report | Raúl 42' |
| Penalties | ||
Panucci Pistone  Fresi Nesta Morfeo | 4–2 | De la PeñaDe PedroAranzábalRaúl |
Emílio Peixe (playing against Italy)Iñigo Idiakez (playing against Italy)| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Italy | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Gold medal |
 | Spain(H) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 | Silver medal |
 | France | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | Bronze medal |
| 4 | Scotland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 2 | Fourth place |
| 5 | Hungary | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | Eliminated in quarter-finals |
| 6 | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 7 | Germany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | |
| 8 | Czech Republic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 |