The 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 14th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Germany between 27 May and 8 June 2004.
Italy won the competition for the fifth time. Italy's Alberto Gilardino won the Golden Player award.
The top three teams in this competition qualified for Athens 2004 Olympics, along with hosts Greece U21s.
The 48 national teams were divided into ten groups (two groups of four + eight groups of 5). The records of the ten group runners-up were then compared. The top six joined the ten winners in a play-off for the eight finals spots. One of the eight qualifiers was then chosen to host the remaining fixtures.
See Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics