The UEFA U21 European Championship kicks off on June 21 in Georgia and Romania with the final scheduled for July 8 in Batumi.
In total, 16 teams will battle it out for the title as part of a three-week tournament, with co-hosts Georgia appearing in the competition for the first time at U21 level.
The tournament looks set to be one of the most tightly contested in recent years with old rivals Germany and Spain tipped as the favourites to claim another European title.
Germany are the defending champions after beating Portugal in the 2021 final, with Spain the most successful side in UEFA U21 European Championship history with six title wins.
U21 European Championship format
A total of 16 nations qualified for the 2023 UEFA European Championship via a qualification tournament held across the last 12 months.
The 16 countries involved have been divided into groups A-D via a draw held on October 18, 2022. The top two teams in each group will progress into the quarterfinal knockout round.
- Group Stage: June 21-28
- Quarterfinals: July 1-2
- Semifinals: July 5
- Final: July 8
The 55 total matches will be split between Georgia and Romania with the former confirming Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi as their host cities, with Bucharest and Cluj listed for Romania.
Tbilisi features two stadiums, the Boris Paitchadze Dinamo Arena and the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, alongside the Ramaz Shengelia Stadium (Kataisi) and the Adjarabet Arena (Batumi), with the latter scheduled to host the final on July 8.
Bucharest will provide four stadiums, including the Arena Națională, Steaua Stadium, Superbet Arena and Stadionul Naţional de Rugby Arcul de Triumf.
Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Stadium (Cluj), Ilie Oană Stadium (Ploiesti) and Marin Anastasovici Stadium (Giurgiu) are also included.
Each of the 55 matches kick off in one of four local time slots and here's how those translate across different regions of the world.
U21 European Championship times
| Stage(s) | Local (Georgia/Romania) |
USA & Canada (EDT) |
UK (GMT) |
Australia (AEST) |
India (IST) |
| Group Stage (Georgia) | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 9:30 p.m. |
| Group Stage (Romania) | 7:00 p.m. | 11:00 a.m. | 4:00 p.m. | 1:00 a.m. | 8:30 p.m. |
| Group Stage (Romania) | 9:45 p.m. | 1:45 p.m. | 6:45 p.m. | 3:45 a.m. | 11:15 p.m. |
| Knockout Stage (Georgia) | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 2:00 a.m. | 9:30 p.m. |
| Knockout Stage (Romania) | 10:00 p.m. | 2:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 4:00 a.m. | 11:30 p.m. |
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U21 European Championship schedule, fixtures
The complete schedule, group standings and knockout-round pairings follow below.
Group A table & fixtures
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2. Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4. Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group A match schedule
| Date | Match |
| Wed, Jun 21 | Georgia vs Portugal |
| Wed, Jun 21 | Belgium vs Netherlands |
| Sat, Jun 24 | Georgia vs Belgium |
| Sat, Jun 24 | Portugal vs Netherlands |
| Tue, Jun 27 | Netherlands vs Georgia |
| Tue, Jun 27 | Portugal vs Belgium |
Group B table & fixtures
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2. Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. Ukraine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4. Croatia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group B match schedule
| Date | Match |
| Wed, Jun 21 | Ukraine vs Croatia |
| Wed, Jun 21 | Romania vs Spain |
| Sat, Jun 24 | Romania vs Ukraine |
| Sat, Jun 24 | Spain vs Croatia |
| Tue, Jun 27 | Croatia vs Romania |
| Tue, Jun 27 | Spain vs Ukraine |
Group C table & fixtures
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Czech Rep | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2. England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. Germany | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4. Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group C match schedule
| Date | Match |
| Thu, Jun 22 | Czech Rep vs England |
| Thu, Jun 22 | Germany vs Israel |
| Sun, Jun 25 | Czech Rep vs Germany |
| Sun, Jun 25 | England vs Israel |
| Wed, Jun 28 | England vs Germany |
| Wed, Jun 28 | Israel vs Czech Rep |
Group D table & fixtures
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Norway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2. Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3. France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4. Italy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group D match schedule
| Date | Match |
| Thu, Jun 22 | Norway vs Switzerland |
| Thu, Jun 22 | France vs Italy |
| Sun, Jun 25 | Switzerland vs Italy |
| Sun, Jun 25 | Norway vs France |
| Wed, Jun 28 | Italy vs Norway |
| Wed, Jun 28 | Switzerland vs France |
Knockout Stages
The single-elimination knockout rounds consist of the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
Any knockout matches tied after 90 minutes will head to 30 minutes of extra time and a penalty shootout, if necessary, to determine a winner.
U21 UEFA European Championship Quarterfinals
| Date | Match |
| Sat, Jul 1 | QF1: Group A winners vs Group C runners up |
| Sat, Jul 2 | QF2: Group C winners vs Group A runners up |
| Sun, Jul 1 | QF3: Group B winners vs Group D runners up |
| Sun, Jul 2 | QF4: Group D winners vs Group B runners up |
U21 UEFA European Championship Semifinals
| Date | Match |
| Wed, Jul 5 | QF1 Winner vs QF2 Winner |
| Wed, Jul 5 | QF3 Winner vs QF4 Winner |
U21 UEFA European Championship Final
| Date | Match |
| Sat, Jul 8 | Semifinal winners |