1998 UEFA European Under-18 Championship
1998 Ευρωπαϊκό πρωτάθλημα ποδοσφαίρου Κ-18
(in Greek)
Tournament details
Host countryCyprus
Dates19–26 July
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)6 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Republic of Ireland (1st title)
Runners-up Germany
Third place Croatia
Fourth place Portugal
Tournament statistics
Matches played14
Goals scored45 (3.21 per match)
Top scorer(s)Germany Enrico Kern
(4 goals)
← 1997
1999 →

The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1998 Final Tournament was held in Cyprus. It also served as the European qualification for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. For this tournament, the age limit was moved back from August to January. Players born on or after 1 January 1979 were eligible to participate in this competition.

Qualification

Main article: 1998 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualifying

50 UEFA nations entered the competition, and with the hosts Cyprus qualifying automatically, the other 49 teams competed in the qualifying competition to determine the remaining seven spots in the final tournament. The qualifying competition consisted of two rounds: First round, which took place in autumn 1997 and was played in 14 round-robin tournament groups with three or four teams each; and the Second round, which took place in spring 1998, in which pairs of group winners played home and away matches.

The following teams qualified for the final tournament.

Team Method of qualification Appearance Last appearance Previous best performance
 Cyprus Hosts 1st — Debut
 Croatia Second round winners 1st — Debut
 England Second round winners 1996 (third place) Champions (1948, 1963, 1964, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1993)
 Germany Second round winners 1994 (runners-up) Champions (19652, 19702, 19811, 19862)
 Lithuania Second round winners 1st — Debut
 Portugal Second round winners 1997 (runners-up) Champions (1961, 1994)
 Republic of Ireland Second round winners 1997 (fourth place) Fourth place (1984, 1997)
 Spain Second round winners 1997 (third place) Champions (1952, 1954, 1995)
1 = as West Germany
2 = as East Germany

Match officials

A total of 6 referees, 7 assistant referees and 2 fourth officials officiated the tournament.

Squads

Main article: 1998 UEFA European Under-18 Championship squads

Each national team submitted a squad of 18 players, including two goalkeepers.

Group stage

Group A

Teams Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Germany 3 2 0 1 11 4 +7 6
 Portugal 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6
 Spain 3 2 0 1 5 6 –1 6
 Lithuania 3 0 0 3 2 11 –9 0
Lithuania 1–7 Germany
Trakys 53' Report Majunke 8'
Kern 65', 90'
Timm 66'
Voss 71'
Gensler 75'
Ernst 80'
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 200
Referee: Adrian Stoica (Romania)
Spain 2–1 Portugal
Gerard 49'
Couñago 71'		 Report Carreira 64'
GSZ Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 50
Referee: Jan Wegereef (Netherlands)
Portugal 2–0 Lithuania
Marco Almeida 29', 83' Report
Ammochostos Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 60
Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
Germany 4–1 Spain
Deisler 4', 27'
Kern 16', 19'		 Report Barkero 20'
GSZ Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 600
Referee: Pascal Garibian (France)
Portugal 2–0 Germany
Simão 30'
Marco Almeida 43'		 Report
GSZ Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 200
Referee: Eric Romain (Belgium)
Spain 2–1 Lithuania
Gerard 88', 89' Report Alunderis 54'
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 200
Referee: Emanuel Raphael Zammit (Malta)

Group B

Teams Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Republic of Ireland 3 2 0 1 8 3 +5 6
 Croatia 3 2 0 1 8 5 +3 6
 England 3 2 0 1 3 4 –1 6
 Cyprus 3 0 0 3 1 8 –7 0
Croatia 2–5 Republic of Ireland
Deranja 25'
Bjelanović 39'		 Report George 2', 90'
Keane 10'
McPhail 45'
Patridge 66'
Municipal Stadium, Ayia Napa
Attendance: 500
Referee: Eric Romain (Belgium)
England 2–1 Cyprus
Matthews Report Woodgate 19' (o.g.)
Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
Croatia 3–0 Cyprus
Mikić 37'
Vranješ 41'
Lovrek 90'		 Report
Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni
Attendance: 250
Referee: Emanuel Raphael Zammit (Malta)
England 1–0 Republic of Ireland
Smith 85' Report
Anagennisi Football Ground, Deryneia
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Jan Wegereef (Netherlands)
Croatia 3–0 England
Banović 38' (pen.)
Mikić 79', 90'		 Report
Anagennisi Football Ground, Deryneia
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Adrian Stoica (Romania)
Republic of Ireland 3–0 Cyprus
B. Quinn 19'
Keane 45', 78'		 Report
Municipal Stadium, Ayia Napa
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Pascal Garibian (France)

Third place match

Portugal 0–0 Croatia
Report
Penalties
4–5
GSZ Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 400
Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)

Final

Republic of Ireland 1–1 Germany
A. Quinn 70' Report Gensler 89'
Penalties
4–3
GSZ Stadium, Larnaca
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Eric Romain (Belgium)

Qualification to World Youth Championship

The six best performing teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Goalscorers

There were 45 goals scored in 14 matches, for an average of 3.21 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

See also

External links

UEFA European U-18 and U-19 Championship
Categories