The 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1988–90), had 30 entrants.
San Marino competed for the first time. USSR U-21s won the competition.
The 30 national teams were divided into eight groups (six groups of 4 + two groups of 3). 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
1990 FIFA World Cup qualification with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:
Groups 1 and 2 featured the same nations
Group 3 did not include
Iceland (moved to Group 4)
Group 4 did not include
Wales, but included
Iceland (moved from Group 3)
The 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1988–90), had 30 entrants.
San Marino competed for the first time. USSR U-21s won the competition.
The 30 national teams were divided into eight groups (six groups of 4 + two groups of 3). 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
1990 FIFA World Cup qualification with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:
Groups 1 and 2 featured the same nations
Group 3 did not include
Iceland (moved to Group 4)
Group 4 did not include
Wales, but included
Iceland (moved from Group 3)