The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started on 31 May 2007 with a qualifying competition and finishes on 15 October 2008, before the final tournament on 15–23 June 2009.

The first stage of the qualifying competition is a group stage followed by play-offs. Each group winner, as well as the four highest ranked second place teams, will advance to the play-off. The play-off will determine which seven nations join Sweden in the final tournament. Sweden, as hosts, qualify automatically.

Summary

Teams that have secured a place in the play-offs are highlighted in green, in their respective qualifying groups. The teams are ordered by final group position.

Group 1 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 1 The teams competing in Group 1 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Greece and Italy.-Standings:Key:...	Group 2 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 2 The teams competing in Group 2 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Armenia, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Turkey and Ukraine.-Standings:Key:...	Group 3 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 3 The teams competing in Group 3 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Bulgaria, England, Montenegro, Portugal, and Republic of Ireland.-Standings:Key:...	Group 4 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 4 The teams competing in Group 4 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Georgia, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia and Spain.-Standings:Key:...	Group 5 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 5 The teams competing in Group 5 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Estonia, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.-Standings:Key:...	Group 6 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification Group 6 The teams competing in Group 6 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Scotland and Slovenia.-Standings:Key:...	Group 7 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 7 The teams competing in Group 7 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, and Slovakia.-Standings:Key:...	Group 8 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 8 The teams competing in Group 8 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Belarus, Hungary, Latvia, San Marino and Serbia.-Standings:Key:...	Group 9 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 9 The teams competing in Group 9 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition are Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Moldova and Northern Ireland.-Standings:...	Group 10 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification Group 10 The teams competing in Group 10 of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition are Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Malta, Romania and Wales.-Standings:Key:...

Group 1

16

8

7

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	10	7	3	0	21	5
24
	10	7	1	2	20	12
22
	10	5	3	2	20	13
18
	10	3	3	4	10	13	−3	12
	10	1	1	8	5	18	−13	4
	10	0	3	7	6	21	−15	3

Group 2

12

9

14

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	6	1	1	18	6
19
	8	5	0	3	16	7
15
	8	4	2	2	19	5
14
	8	3	1	4	8	16	−8	10
	8	0	0	8	4	31	−27	0

Group 3

16

6

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	7	1	0	17	1
22
	8	4	2	2	13	7
14
	8	2	2	4	5	12	−7	8
	8	2	1	5	4	9	−5	7
	8	1	2	5	4	14	−10	5

Group 4

19

8

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	8	0	0	21	2
24
	8	5	0	3	14	6
15
	8	3	0	5	9	11	−2	9
	8	2	0	6	9	18	−9	6
	8	2	0	6	6	22	−16	6

Group 5

11

7

1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	5	1	2	16	5
16
	8	5	1	2	10	3
16
	8	3	3	2	7	6
12
	8	2	3	3	5	6	−1	9
	8	1	0	7	1	19	−18	3

Group 6

5

9

11

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	6	1	1	11	6
19
	8	5	1	2	13	4
16
	8	5	1	2	17	6
16
	8	1	2	5	4	13	−9	5
	8	0	1	7	2	18	−16	1

Group 7

6

2

1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	6	2	0	12	6
20
	8	3	2	3	13	11
11
	8	2	4	2	13	12
10
	8	1	4	3	6	9	−3	7
	8	2	0	6	9	15	−6	6

Group 8

19

10

1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	5	2	1	24	5
17
	8	5	2	1	15	5
17
	8	4	0	4	14	13
12
	8	3	2	3	6	6	0	11
	8	0	0	8	1	31	−30	0

Group 9

21

11

1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	5	2	1	24	3
17
	8	5	2	1	16	5
17
	8	4	0	4	13	12
12
	8	4	0	4	6	8	−2	12
	8	0	0	8	1	32	−31	0

Group 10

14

11

8

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
	8	6	0	2	20	6
18
	8	5	2	1	16	5
17
	8	4	3	1	11	3
15
	8	1	1	6	7	17	−10	4
	8	1	0	7	3	24	−21	3

Ranking of second-placed teams

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11

11

10

9

7

6

9

8

6

2

Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
10		8	5	2	1	16	5
17
	8	5	2	1	16	5
17
8		8	5	2	1	15	5
17
6		8	5	1	2	13	4
16
5		8	5	1	2	10	3
16
1	*	8	5	1	2	16	10
16
2		8	5	0	3	16	7
15
4		8	5	0	3	14	6
15
3		8	4	2	2	13	7
14
7		8	3	2	3	13	11
11

Since Group 1 had six teams, only results against the top five ranked teams are taken into account. As Azerbaijan finished last, Croatia's 3-2 and 1-0 wins are disregarded for the purpose of calculating best runners-up overall.

Play-offs

The play-off first legs were played on 10–11 October, while the second legs were played on 14–15 October.

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Top scorers

Pos	Goals	Player	Nationality
1	7	Chedwyn Evans	Wales Wales national under-21 football team The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
=	7	Rouwen Hennings Rouwen Hennings Rouwen Hennings is a German footballer who plays for St. Pauli.-International career:Hennings also plays for the German national U21 team.-External links:...	Germany Germany national under-21 football team The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association , the governing body of football in Germany....
3	6	Lazaros Christodoulopoulos Lazaros Christodoulopoulos Lazaros Christodoulopoulos is a Greek footballer currently playing for Panathinaikos FC.Christodoulopoulos is considered one of the most promising young players in Greece. He is member of the Greek national team...	Greece
=	6	Antonis Petropoulos Antonis Petropoulos Antonis Petropoulos is a Greek footballer currently playing for Panathinaikos FC.He was also part of Greece U-21 team.-Aiolikos:...	Greece
=	6	Eren Derdiyok Eren Derdiyok Eren Derdiyok is a Swiss footballer of Kurdish descent. He plays as a striker.-Club career:BSC Old Boys:At Derdiyok is a powerful striker who can also fill in a centre-back if needed. He started his career with Swiss minnows BSC Old Boys at the beginning of the 2005–06 season in which scored 10...	Switzerland Switzerland national under-21 football team The Switzerland national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Switzerland and is controlled by the Swiss Football Association...
=	6	Gojko Kačar Gojko Kacar Gojko Kačar is a Serbian footballer who plays for Hamburger SV and the Serbia national team.-Career:...	Serbia Serbia national under-21 football team The Serbia national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Serbia and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia....
7	5	Adam Szalai Ádám Szalai Ádám Szalai is a Hungarian footballer who plays for German club Mainz 05 as a striker.-Club career:Szalai started his football career in his hometown, Budapest, playing for the youths of NB I sides Honvéd and Újpest FC. In 2004, he went to Germany to join the youth and then the reserve team of...	Hungary Hungary national under-21 football team The Hungary national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team for Hungary and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Hungarian Under-21 team was formed...
=	5	Xheyahir Sukaj Xheyahir Sukaj Xhevahir Sukaj is an Albanian football striker who currently plays for Vllaznia Shkodër in the Albanian Superliga...	Albania Albania national under-21 football team The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...