1972 UEFA European Under-23 Championship

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The 1972 UEFA European Under-23 Championship was a football tournament held from 1970 to 1972. It was the first edition of the competition, which featured 23 national teams.

Qualifying Stage

The allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of the UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying tournament with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:

* Group 1 did not include Wales
* Group 2 and 8 had the same competing nations
* Group 3 did not include England and Malta
* Group 4 did not include Northern Ireland and Cyprus
* Group 5 did not include Belgium and Scotland
* Group 6 did not include Republic of Ireland
* Group 7 did not include Luxembourg

Knockout Stages

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.

Final

Czechoslovakia U-23s won the competition, defeating the USSR in the final.

Participating Teams

A total of 23 national teams participated in the tournament.

Format

The tournament featured a qualifying stage and knockout stages. The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis until the winner was decided.

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