1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Tournament details
Dates12 March – 29 October
Teams29 (from 1 confederation)
Final positions
Champions Spain (1st title)
Runners-up Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played92
Goals scored249 (2.71 per match)
Top scorer(s)Italy Gianluca Vialli (4 goals)
Best player(s)Spain Manuel Sanchis[1]
1984
1988

The 1986 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 5th staging of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The qualifying stage spanned two years (1984–86), had 29 entrants. Spain U-21s won the competition after a penalty shootout, the first in the U-21 competition's history.

The 29 national teams were divided into eight groups (five groups of 4 + three groups of 3). The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis until the winner was decided. There was no finals tournament or 3rd-place playoff.

  1. ^ "1986: Manuel Sanchís". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 June 1986. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.

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