1992 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 September 1990 – 18 December 1991 (qualifications) 10 March – 3 June (finals) |
| Teams | 32 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Italy (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Sweden |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 111 |
| Goals scored | 296 (2.67 per match) |
| Attendance | 128,567 (1,158 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Renato Buso (3 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Renato Buso |
← 1990 1994 → | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 28 (from 1 confederation) |
← 1988 1996 → | |
The 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1990–92), had 32 entrants. Malta and Israel competed for the first time. This was also the first appearance of the unified Germany team since 1964. Italy U-21s won the competition.
The competition doubled as the European qualifying stage for the Olympic Football Tournament, which until 1992 existed as a separate tournament. Hosts Spain qualify automatically and the best four eligible nations would qualify automatically. The fifth best European team would play-off against the best Oceania (OFC) team for another Olympics place. Beside the hosting Spain, teams of Scotland, England, Luxembourg and San-Marino did not take part in Olympic qualifications (not members of IOC). Teams of Northern Ireland, Wales and Faroes Islands did not take part in this competition at all.
The 32 national teams were divided into eight groups (six groups of 4 + one group of 3 + one group of 5). 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.