The 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 14th edition of UEFA's European Under-16 Football Championship. Austria hosted the championship, during 29 April – 11 May 1996. 16 teams entered the competition, and Portugal defeated France in the final to win the competition for the third time. Portugal was the first team to win the title two years in a row (Spain did it again in 2007 and 2008).
| U-16-Fußball-Europameisterschaft 1996 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Austria |
| Dates | 29 April – 11 May |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 confederation) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Portugal (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  France |
| Third place |  Israel |
| Fourth place |  Greece |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 82 (2.56 per match) |
SquadsEdit
ParticipantsEdit
Group stageEdit
Group AEdit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 |
 Republic of Ireland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
 Austria
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
 Poland
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | Austria |
|---|---|---|
Keane  79' |
Referee: 
Amit Klein
Amit Klein| Portugal | 3–0 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Paulo Costa 25', 50' Simão 55' |
Attendance: 
Mikko Vuorela
Mikko Vuorela| Republic of Ireland | 0–2 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Leal 58' Hugo Cruz 76' |
Referee: 
Kurt Zuppinger
Kurt Zuppinger| Poland | 0–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| McPhail 63' |
Referee: 
Costas Kapitanis
Costas KapitanisGroup BEdit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 |
 Germany
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 6 |
 Ukraine
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 4 |
 Romania
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
Group CEdit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 9 |
 Croatia
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
 Spain
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 |
| Switzerland
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| Spain | 4–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Couñago 5' Jaba 12' Duarte 32' (pen.) Novo 75' |
Rotanzi 2' |
Referee: 
Attila Juhos
Attila Juhos| France | 3–0 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Réveillère 26' Malbranque 52' (pen.) Suchet 60' (pen.) |
Referee: 
Graham Poll
Graham Poll| Croatia | 2–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Deranja 24', 59' |
Chappuis 4' |
Attendance: 1,400
Group DEdit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| England
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
 Slovakia
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
 Turkey
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
Knockout stagesEdit
BracketEdit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 6 May – Krems an der Donau | ||||||||||
| Portugal | 5 | |||||||||
| 8 May – Tulln an der Donau | ||||||||||
| Croatia | 1 | |||||||||
| Portugal | 3 | |||||||||
| 6 May – Baden bei Wien | ||||||||||
| Greece | 0 | |||||||||
| Greece | 1 | |||||||||
| 11 May – Vienna | ||||||||||
| England | 0 | |||||||||
| Portugal | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 May – Basel | ||||||||||
| France | 0 | |||||||||
| Germany | 2 | |||||||||
| 8 May – Wiener Neustadt | ||||||||||
| Israel (aet) | 3 | |||||||||
| Israel | 0 | |||||||||
| 6 May – Amstetten | ||||||||||
| France | 1 | |||||||||
| France (p) | 0 (5) | |||||||||
| Republic of Ireland | 0 (4) | |||||||||
QuarterfinalsEdit
| Portugal | 5–1 | Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Simão 2', 11', 39' Nuno Gomes 5'Celso 26' |
Horvat 23' |
| France | 0–0 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
Réveillère  Vigier Malbranque Bernard Sabourin |
5–4 | Clarke Crossley McPhail Mannion |
Referee: Mikko Vuorela
Mikko VuorelaSemifinalsEdit
| Portugal | 3–0 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Simão 6' (pen.) Paulo Costa 58'Edgar Caseiro 66' |