1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

The 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years, had 30 entrants. The Republic of Ireland competed for the first time. France U-21s won the competition.
The 30 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 third-place playoff.

Draw

The allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying tournament with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:

Group 1 featured the same teams
Group 2 did not include Malta
Group 3 did not include Iceland
Group 4 did not include Northern Ireland
Group 5 did not include Netherlands
Group 6 did not include Wales, but included Iceland
Group 7 did not include Bulgaria and Luxembourg
Group 8 composed of Bulgaria and Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany

Qualifying Round 1

Matches

''All times are local ''

Romania vs Austria

Austria vs Albania

Spain 1–0 Romania
Albania 0–0 Spain
Romania 3–2 Albania
Austria 1–1 Spain
Albania 1–1 Austria
Romania 0–1 Spain
Spain 3–0 Austria
Albania 1–2 Romania
Austria 2–1 Romania
Spain 3–0 Albania

Squads

''See 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads''

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

First leg

----
----
----

Second leg

----
----
----

Semi-finals

First leg

----

Second leg

----

Goalscorers

;5 goals

Aris Karasavvidis

;4 goals

Stéphane Paille

;3 goals

;1 goal

;Own goal