1996 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Spain |
| Dates | 12 March – 31 May |
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 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) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Raúl (3 goals) |
| Best player |
Fabio Cannavaro
|
The 1996 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 of Socialist rule in Europe in the early 1990s.
Russia, who competed in 1994 were joined by nine further former Soviet Union states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine.
The exclusion (for political reasons) of the team from Serbia and Montenegro, then known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continued. Croatia, Slovenia and the Republic of Macedonia were three former states of Yugoslavia who did compete though.
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