# 1978 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

The 1978 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1976–78) had 24 entrants. Yugoslavia U-21s won the competition.
The 24 national teams were divided into eight groups. 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.

## Qualifying stage
### Draw

The allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:
* Group 1 did not include Portugal (moved to Group 2) and Cyprus, but included Sweden (moved from Group 6)
* Group 2 did not include England and Finland (both moved to Group 5), but included Portugal (moved from Group 1)
* Group 3 did not include Malta
* Group 4 did not include Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Iceland, but included France and Bulgaria (both moved from Group 5)
* Group 5 composed of England and Finland (both moved from Group 2) and Norway (moved from Group 6)
* Group 6 (based on World Cup qualifying Group 7) did not include Wales, but included Switzerland (moved from World Cup Group 6)
* Groups 7 and 8 included the same teams as World Cup qualifying Groups 8 and 9 respectively
* Legend
* Group winners qualified for the knockout stage

### Group 1

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Denmark | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | Poland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 4 |
| 3 | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 28 October 1976 | Denmark | 2–0 | Sweden | Copenhagen |
| 30 April 1977 | Denmark | 6–2 | Poland | Slagelse |
| 18 May 1977 | Sweden | 2–0 | Poland | Kalmar |
| 16 June 1977 | Sweden | 2–2 | Denmark | Helsingborg |
| 20 September 1977 | Poland | 1–0 | Denmark | Nowy Sącz |
| 27 October 1977 | Poland | 4–2 | Sweden | Opole |

### Group 2

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Italy | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Portugal | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 28 November 1976 | Luxembourg | 1–2 | Portugal | Esch-sur-Alzette |
| 23 December 1976 | Portugal | 1–0 | Italy | Funchal |
| 9 February 1977 | Italy | 4–0 | Luxembourg | Como |
| 12 October 1977 | Italy | 4–1 | Portugal | Vicenza |
| 29 October 1977 | Portugal | 3–0 | Luxembourg | Lisbon |
| 12 November 1977 | Luxembourg | 1–5 | Italy | Esch-sur-Alzette |

### Group 3

| Qualifying Group 3 | Qualifying Group 3 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | East Germany | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | Turkey | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 3 | Austria | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 16 November 1976 | Turkey | 1–1 | East Germany | Bursa |
| 17 April 1977 | Austria | 2–2 | Turkey | Vienna |
| 24 September 1977 | Austria | 1–6 | East Germany | Vienna |
| 11 October 1977 | East Germany | 2–1 | Austria | Erfurt |
| 29 October 1977 | Turkey | 2–1 | Austria | Manisa |
| 15 November 1977 | East Germany | 4–0 | Turkey | Magdeburg |

### Group 4

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Bulgaria | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | Belgium | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | France | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 3 September 1976 | France | 1–1 | Belgium | Amiens |
| 10 October 1976 | France | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Le Havre |
| 29 March 1977 | Belgium | 2–1 | France | Courtrai |
| 1 June 1977 | Belgium | 0–1 | Bulgaria | Brussels |
| 26 October 1977 | Bulgaria | 1–0 | Belgium | Burgas |
| 15 November 1977 | Bulgaria | 2–1 | France | Stara Zagora |

### Group 5

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | England | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 | Norway | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| 3 | Finland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 27 October 1976 | Finland | 1–4 | Norway | Helsinki |
| 26 May 1977 | Finland | 0–1 | England | Helsinki |
| 1 June 1977 | Norway | 1–2 | England | Bergen |
| 17 August 1977 | Norway | 1–0 | Finland | Grue |
| 6 September 1977 | England | 6–0 | Norway | Brighton |
| 12 October 1977 | England | 8–1 | Finland | Hull |

### Group 6

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Scotland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 12 October 1976 | Czechoslovakia | 0–0 | Scotland | Plzeň |
| 30 March 1977 | Switzerland | 2–0 | Scotland | Bern |
| 24 May 1977 | Czechoslovakia | 4–0 | Switzerland | České Budějovice |
| 7 September 1977 | Scotland | 3–1 | Switzerland | Glasgow |
| 20 September 1977 | Scotland | 2–1 | Czechoslovakia | Edinburgh |
| 5 October 1977 | Switzerland | 0–2 | Czechoslovakia | Zürich |

### Group 7

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Spain | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 3 | Romania | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 9 October 1976 | Yugoslavia | 4–1 | Spain | Zagreb |
| 17 April 1977 | Spain | 3–0 | Romania | Madrid |
| 8 May 1977 | Romania | 1–3 | Yugoslavia | Craiova |
| 26 October 1977 | Romania | 4–0 | Spain | Bucharest |
| 12 November 1977 | Yugoslavia | 2–0 | Romania | Osijek |
| 30 November 1977 | Spain | 1–0 | Yugoslavia | Elche |

### Group 8

| | | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Hungary | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Greece | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
Match results :
| Date | Home | Score | Away | Venue |
| 9 October 1976 | Hungary | 7–0 | Greece | Kecskemét |
| 24 April 1977 | Greece | 0–2 | Soviet Union | Athens |
| 29 April 1977 | Soviet Union | 0–0 | Hungary | Moscow |
| 9 May 1977 | Soviet Union | 3–0 | Greece | Moscow |
| 17 May 1977 | Hungary | 1–0 | Soviet Union | Békéscsaba |
| 28 May 1977 | Greece | 1–1 | Hungary | Serres |

### Qualified teams

| Country | Qualified as | Previous appearances in tournament |
| Denmark | Group 1 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| Italy | Group 2 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| East Germany | Group 3 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| Bulgaria | Group 4 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| England | Group 5 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| Czechoslovakia | Group 6 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| Yugoslavia | Group 7 winner | 0 (Debut) |
| Hungary | Group 8 winner | 0 (Debut) |

## Squads

See 1978 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads

## Knockout stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| England | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Italy | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Italy | 1 | 0 | 1 | England | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| Yugoslavia | 0 | 2 | 2 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| Hungary | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Hungary | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | Yugoslavia | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | East Germany | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Czechoslovakia | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | East Germany | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| East Germany | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| East Germany | 1 | 5 | 6 | East Germany | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | Bulgaria | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| Denmark | 4 | 0 | 4 | Bulgaria | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| Bulgaria (a) | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |

## FINAL

GDR-YUG 0:1 Halle, 17.5.1978., Scorer: Halilhodžić ('53). GDR: Heyne, Brauer, Hause (Vingel), Uhlig, Roth, Weber, Terletzki, Eigendorf (Mischinger), Kuhn, Kotte, Riediger. YUG: Stojanović, Vujkov, Hrstić, Zajec, Stojković, Bogdan, Krmpotić, Klinčarski, Halilhodžić, Bošnjak (R.Savić), Desnica (Slišković).
YUG-GDR 4:4 Mostar, 31.5.1978., Scorers: Halilhodžić ('9, '37), Desnica ('16), Bogdan ('50) - Kotte ('2), Kuhn ('11, '31), Riediger ('15). YUG: Stojanović, Krmpotić, M.Obradović, Zajec, Stojković, Bogdan, Bošnjak (Starčević), Savić, Halilhodžić, Klinčarski (Verlašević), Desnica. GDR: Heyne, Hause, Brauer (Vingel), Uhlig, Roth, Schnuphase, Weber, Eigendorf, Riediger, Kotte, Kuhn.