1974 UEFA European Under 23 Championship

Tournament details
Teams	21 (from 1 confederation)
Defending champions	Czechoslovakia U23's
Final positions
Champions	Hungary U23's (1st title)
Runner-up	East Germany U23's
Semifinalists	Poland U23's Soviet Union U23's
Tournament statistics
Matches played	50
Goals scored	136 (2.72 per match)
← 1972 1976 →

The 1974 UEFA European Under-23 Championship, which spanned two years (1972–74) had 21 entrants. Hungary U-23 won the competition.

The 21 national teams were divided into eight groups (five groups of 3 + three group of 2). 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 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:

• Group 1 did not include Hungary (moved to Group 7) and Malta, but included Czechoslovakia (moved from Group 8)
• Group 2 did not include Switzerland and Luxembourg
• Group 3 did not include Belgium and Iceland
• Group 4 did not include Finland (moved to Group 8)
• Group 5 did not include England and Wales, but included Denmark (moved from Group 8) and West Germany (who did not participate in World Cup qualification)
• Group 6 did not include Northern Ireland and Cyprus
• Group 7 did not include Spain, but included Hungary (moved from Group 1)
• Group 8 (based on World Cup qualifying Group 9) did not include Republic of Ireland, but included Finland (moved from Group 4)

Qualifying Group 1 P W D L F A Pts 1  Czechoslovakia 4 3 0 1 9 3 6 2  Sweden 4 2 1 1 6 5 5 3  Austria 4 0 1 3 1 8 1

Austria 1–1 Sweden Austria 0–1 Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 4-0 Austria Sweden 0–3 Czechoslovakia Sweden 2–0 Austria Czechoslovakia 1–3 Sweden  Czechoslovakia qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 2 P W D L F A Pts 1  Italy 2 2 0 0 4 1 4 2  Turkey 2 0 0 2 1 4 0

Turkey 1–3 Italy Italy 1–0 Turkey  Italy qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 3 P W D L F A Pts 1  Netherlands 2 2 0 0 4 1 4 2  Norway 2 0 0 2 1 4 0

Norway 1–3 Netherlands Netherlands 1–0 Norway  Netherlands qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 4 P W D L F A Pts 1  East Germany 4 3 0 1 10 3 6 2  Romania 4 1 1 2 5 6 3 3  Albania 4 1 1 2 3 9 3

Albania 1–1 Romania Albania 1–0 East Germany Romania 2–1 Albania Romania 1–2 East Germany East Germany 2–1 Romania East Germany 6–0 Albania  East Germany qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 5 P W D L F A Pts 1  Poland 4 3 1 0 9 3 7 2  West Germany 4 2 1 1 7 3 5 3  Denmark 4 0 0 4 1 11 0

Denmark 0–2 Poland Denmark 0–2 West Germany Poland 4–1 Denmark West Germany 2–3 Poland West Germany 3–0 Denmark Poland 0–0 West Germany  Poland qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 6 P W D L F A Pts 1  Bulgaria 2 1 1 0 2 1 3 2  Portugal 2 0 1 1 1 2 1

Portugal 0–0 Bulgaria Bulgaria 2–1 Portugal  Bulgaria qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 7 P W D L F A Pts 1  Hungary 4 3 0 1 6 6 6 2  Yugoslavia 4 2 0 2 6 3 4 3  Greece 4 1 0 3 4 7 2

Yugoslavia 4–0 Hungary Greece 2–0 Yugoslavia Hungary 2–0 Greece Hungary 1–0 Yugoslavia Greece 2–3 Hungary Yugoslavia 2–0 Greece  Hungary qualify as group winners

Qualifying Group 8 P W D L F A Pts 1  Soviet Union 4 3 1 0 8 1 7 2  Finland 4 1 1 2 3 8 3 3  France 4 1 0 3 5 7 2

Finland 1–3 France Soviet Union 3–1 France Soviet Union 4–0 Finland France 0–1 Soviet Union Finland 0–0 Soviet Union France 1–2 Finland  Soviet Union qualify as group winners

Knockout stages