2021–22 UEFA Youth League

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2021–22 UEFA Youth League
2017-2018 Amical Oyonnax vs Stade Français - 33.jpg
The Colovray Stadium in Nyon will host the final.
Tournament details
Dates14 September 2021 – 25 April 2022
Teams64 (from 39 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played144
Goals scored487 (3.38 per match)
Top scorer(s)Denmark Mads Hansen
(7 goals)
All statistics correct as of 8 December 2021.

The 2021–22 UEFA Youth League is the eighth season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA.

Real Madrid, having won the title in 2019–20, are the title holders, since the 2020–21 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and the title was not awarded.

Teams[]

A total of 64 teams from at least 32 of the 55 UEFA member associations may enter the tournament. They are split into two sections, each with 32 teams.

  • UEFA Champions League Path: The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualified for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage entered the UEFA Champions League Path. If there was a vacancy (youth teams not entering), it was filled by a team defined by UEFA.
  • Domestic Champions Path: The youth domestic champions of the top 32 associations according to their 2021 UEFA country coefficients entered the Domestic Champions Path.[1] If there was a vacancy (associations with no youth domestic competition, as well as youth domestic champions already included in the UEFA Champions League path), it was first filled by the title holders should they have not yet qualified, and then by the youth domestic champions of the next association in the UEFA ranking.

Akademia e Futbollit, Angers, Deportivo La Coruña, Daugavpils, Empoli, Hajduk Split, 1. FC Köln, Miercurea Ciuc, Pogoń Szczecin, St Patrick's Athletic, Trabzonspor, Žalgiris and Zvijezda 09 will make their tournament debuts. Lithuania will be represented for the first time.[2]

Qualified teams for 2021–22 UEFA Youth League[2]
Rank Association Teams
UEFA Champions League Path Domestic Champions Path
1  England
2  Spain
Deportivo La Coruña (2020–21 División de Honor Juvenil U-19)[4]
3  Germany
1. FC Köln (2019–20 U19 A-Junioren-Bundesliga)[Note GER]
4  Italy
  • Inter Milan
  • Milan
  • Atalanta
  • Juventus
 Empoli (2020–21 Campionato Primavera 1)[5]
5  France
Angers (2019–20 Championnat National U19)[Note FRA]
6  Portugal
7  Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg[YC] (2020–21 Russian Youth Football League U17)[6]
8  Belgium Club Brugge Genk (2019–20 Belgian U18 League)[Note BEL]
9  Ukraine
10  Netherlands Ajax AZ (2019–20 Eredivisie U19)[Note NED]
11  Turkey Beşiktaş Trabzonspor (2020–21 U19 Elit)[8]
12  Austria Red Bull Salzburg[PO][YC] (2020–21 Jugendliga U18)[9]
13  Denmark Midtjylland (2020–21 U19 Ligaen)
14  Scotland Rangers (2020–21 Scottish U18 League)
15  Czech Republic Sparta Prague (2020–21 Czech U19 League)
16  Cyprus APOEL (2020–21 Cypriot U19 League)
17   Switzerland Young Boys[PO][YC] (2020–21 Swiss U18 League)
18  Greece PAOK (2020–21 Superleague K19)
19  Serbia Red Star Belgrade (2020–21 Serbian U19 League)
20  Croatia Hajduk Split (2020–21 1. HNL Juniori U19)
21  Sweden Malmö[PO] Hammarby IF (2020 P17 Allsvenskan)
22  Norway Rosenborg (2020 Norwegian U19 Cup)
23  Israel Maccabi Haifa (2020–21 Israeli U19 Noar Premier League)
24  Kazakhstan Kairat (2020 Kazakhstani U17 League)
25  Belarus Minsk (2020 Belarusian U18 League)
26  Azerbaijan Gabala (2020–21 Azerbaijani U19 League)
27  Bulgaria Septemvri Sofia (2020–21 U18 BFU Cup)
28  Romania Miercurea Ciuc (2020–21 Liga Elitelor U19)
29  Poland Pogoń Szczecin (2020–21 Polish U18 Central Junior League)
30  Slovakia Žilina (2020–21 Slovak U19 League)
32  Slovenia Domžale (2020–21 Slovenian U19 League)
33  Hungary MTK Budapest[V-LIE] (2020–21 Hungarian U19 League)
35  Lithuania Žalgiris[V-YC] (2020 Lithuanian Elite Youth League U19 Division)
37  Latvia Daugavpils[V-YC] (2020 Latvian U18 League)
38  Albania Akademia e Futbollit[V-PO] (2020–21 Albanian U19 League)
39  North Macedonia Shkëndija[V-PO] (2020–21 Macedonian U19 League)
40  Bosnia and Herzegovina Zvijezda 09[V-PO] (2020–21 Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 Junior League)
41  Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol[PO][YC] (2020–21 Divizia Națională U19)
42  Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic[V-PO] (2020 League of Ireland U19 Division)[10]
Associations without any participating teams
(no teams qualify for UEFA Champions League group stage, and either with no youth domestic competition or not ranked high enough for a vacancy)
Rank Association
31  Liechtenstein
34  Luxembourg
36  Armenia
43  Finland
44  Georgia
45  Malta
Rank Association
46  Iceland
47  Wales
48  Northern Ireland
49  Gibraltar
50  Montenegro
Rank Association
51  Estonia
52  Kosovo
53  Faroe Islands
54  Andorra
55  San Marino
Notes
  Potential: Youth domestic champions which may potentially enter the Domestic Champions Path only if there is a vacancy.
  1. TH Title holders.
  2. YC Teams playing in the UEFA Champions League Path which were also youth domestic champions.
  3. PO Teams playing in the UEFA Champions League Path after their senior team qualified for the Champions League group stage via play-offs.
  4. V-LIE Team playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancy of Liechtenstein (no youth domestic competition).
  5. V-YC Teams playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancies of teams which qualified for the Champions League group stage automatically.
  6. V-PO Teams playing in the Domestic Champions Path through the vacancies of teams which qualified for the Champions League group stage via play-offs.
  7. ^
    Belgium (BEL): The 2020–21 Belgian U18 League was abandoned and 2020–21 Belgium Youth Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. Genk, which were originally selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League (which was later cancelled) by the Royal Belgian Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League in the Domestic Champions Path.
  8. ^
    France (FRA): The 2020–21 Championnat National U19 was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[11] Angers, which were originally selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League (which was later cancelled) by the French Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League in the Domestic Champions Path.[12]
  9. ^
    Germany (GER): The 2020–21 U19 A-Junioren-Bundesliga was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.[13] 1. FC Köln, which were originally selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League (which was later cancelled) by the German Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League in the Domestic Champions Path.[14]
  10. ^
    Netherlands (NED): The 2020–21 Eredivisie U19 was abandoned and the 2020–21 KNVB Youth Cup was not completed by the UEFA registration deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. AZ, which were originally selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League (which was later cancelled) by the Royal Dutch Football Association in the Domestic Champions Path, were selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League in the Domestic Champions Path.
  11. ^
    Portugal (POR): The 2020–21 Campeonato Nacional Juniores S19 was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. Benfica, which were originally selected to play in the 2020–21 UEFA Youth League (which was later cancelled) by the Portuguese Football Federation in the Domestic Champions Path, would have been selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League in the Domestic Champions Path, but since their senior team qualified for the Champions League group stage via play-offs, they qualified for the UEFA Champions League Path, so no team was selected to play in the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League in the Domestic Champions Path.

Round and draw dates[]

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws were held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).[2]

  • For the UEFA Champions League Path group stage, in principle the teams play their matches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the matchdays as scheduled for UEFA Champions League, and on the same day as the corresponding senior teams; however, matches could also be played on other dates, including Mondays and Thursdays.
  • For the Domestic Champions Path first and second rounds, in principle matches are played on Wednesdays (first round on matchdays 2 and 3, second round on matchdays 4 and 5, as scheduled for UEFA Champions League); however, matches could also be played on other dates, including Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Schedule for 2021–22 UEFA Youth League
Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
UEFA Champions League Path
Group stage 		Matchday 1 26 August 2021
(Istanbul) 		14–15 September 2021
Matchday 2 28–29 September 2021
Matchday 3 19–20 October 2021
Matchday 4 2–3 November 2021
Matchday 5 23–24 November 2021
Matchday 6 7–8 December 2021
Domestic Champions Path First round 31 August 2021 29 September 2021 20 October 2021
Second round 3 November 2021 24 November 2021
Knockout phase Play-offs 14 December 2021 8–9 February 2022
Round of 16 14 February 2022 1–2 March 2022
Quarter-finals 15–16 March 2022
Semi-finals 22 April 2022 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon
Final 25 April 2022 at Colovray Stadium, Nyon

UEFA Champions League Path[]

Main article: 2021–22 UEFA Youth League group stage

For the UEFA Champions League Path, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. There was no separate draw held, with the group compositions identical to the draw for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League group stage, which was held on 26 August 2021, 18:00 CEST (19:00 TRT), in Istanbul, Turkey.[15]

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners advance to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advance to the play-offs, where they will join by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path.

Group A[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PSG BRU MCI LPZ
1 France Paris Saint-Germain 6 4 2 0 16 7 +9 14 Round of 16 — 3–2 1–1 3–0
2 Belgium Club Brugge 6 3 2 1 18 11 +7 11 Play-offs 2–2 — 1–1 4–1
3 England Manchester City 6 2 2 2 12 11 +1 8 1–3 3–5 — 5–1
4 Germany RB Leipzig 6 0 0 6 4 21 −17 0 1–4 1–4 0–1 —
Source: UEFA

Group B[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification LIV ATM POR MIL
1 England Liverpool 6 3 2 1 9 4 +5 11 Round of 16 — 2–0 4–0 1–0
2 Spain Atlético Madrid 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10[a] Play-offs 2–0 — 1–2 3–0
3 Portugal Porto 6 3 1 2 8 9 −1 10[a] 1–1 1–2 — 3–1
4 Italy Milan 6 0 2 4 3 10 −7 2 1–1 1–1 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head: Atlético Madrid 3 pts (0 GD, 3 GF), Porto 3 pts (0 GD, 3 GF). Goal difference in all group matches: Atlético Madrid +3, Porto –1.

Group C[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SPO DOR AJX BES
1 Portugal Sporting CP 6 3 2 1 11 8 +3 11 Round of 16 — 3–2 1–1 1–2
2 Germany Borussia Dortmund 6 3 1 2 16 9 +7 10[a] Play-offs 0–0 — 0–1 6–2
3 Netherlands Ajax 6 3 1 2 9 10 −1 10[a] 2–3 1–5 — 3–1
4 Turkey Beşiktaş 6 1 0 5 8 17 −9 3 1–3 2–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Borussia Dortmund 3, Ajax 3. Head-to-head goal difference: Borussia Dortmund +3, Ajax –3.

Group D[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RMA INT SHK SHE
1 Spain Real Madrid 6 4 1 1 11 6 +5 13[a] Round of 16 — 2–1 1–0 4–1
2 Italy Inter Milan 6 4 1 1 10 6 +4 13[a] Play-offs 1–1 — 1–0 2–1
3 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 6 3 0 3 14 5 +9 9 3–2 0–1 — 6–0
4 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 6 0 0 6 4 22 −18 0 0–1 2–4 0–5 —
Source: UEFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Real Madrid 4, Inter Milan 1.

Group E[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BEN DKV BAR BAY
1 Portugal Benfica 6 5 0 1 11 4 +7 15 Round of 16 — 1–0 4–0 4–0
2 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 6 4 1 1 14 3 +11 13 Play-offs 4–0 — 4–1 2–1
3 Spain Barcelona 6 1 1 4 5 11 −6 4 0–3 0–0 — 2–0
4 Germany Bayern Munich 6 1 0 5 4 16 −12 3 0–2 0–4 3–2 —
Source: UEFA

Group F[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MUN VIL ATA YB
1 England Manchester United 6 5 0 1 12 9 +3 15 Round of 16 — 1–4 4–2 2–1
2 Spain Villarreal 6 3 2 1 15 9 +6 11 Play-offs 1–2 — 2–0 3–3
3 Italy Atalanta 6 2 1 3 14 14 0 7 1–2 2–2 — 3–0
4 Switzerland Young Boys 6 0 1 5 9 18 −9 1 0–1 1–3 2–3 —
Source: UEFA

Group G[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SLZ SEV LIL WOL
1 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 6 4 0 2 10 5 +5 12 Round of 16 — 2–0 3–1 3–0
2 Spain Sevilla 6 3 2 1 8 3 +5 11 Play-offs 2–0 — 0–0 2–0
3 France Lille 6 3 1 2 7 6 +1 10 1–0 0–3 — 2–0
4 Germany VfL Wolfsburg 6 0 1 5 2 13 −11 1 1–2 1–1 0–3 —
Source: UEFA

Group H[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JUV CHE ZEN MAL
1 Italy Juventus 6 5 1 0 18 7 +11 16 Round of 16 — 3–1 4–2 4–1
2 England Chelsea 6 3 1 2 15 10 +5 10 Play-offs 1–3 — 3–1 4–2
3 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 6 2 1 3 10 13 −3 7 0–2 1–1 — 3–2
4 Sweden Malmö 6 0 1 5 8 21 −13 1 2–2 0–5 1–3 —
Source: UEFA

Domestic Champions Path[]

Main article: 2021–22 UEFA Youth League Domestic Champions Path

For the Domestic Champions Path, the 32 teams were drawn into two rounds of two-legged home-and-away ties. The draw for both the first round and second round was held on 31 August 2021.

The eight second round winners advance to the play-offs, where they will join by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path (group stage).

First round[]

The first legs were played on 28, 29 and 30 September and the second legs were played on 19 and 20 October 2021.[16]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Pogoń Szczecin Poland 3–4 Spain Deportivo La Coruña 3–0 0–4
MTK Budapest Hungary 6–4 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 3–1 3–3
PAOK Greece 1–7 Slovakia Žilina 1–5 0–2
Shkëndija North Macedonia 1–5 Croatia Hajduk Split 0–2 1–3
Daugavpils Latvia 0–6 Belarus Minsk 0–4 0–2
APOEL Cyprus 1–2 Kazakhstan Kairat 1–1 0–1
Žalgiris Lithuania 0–5 Israel Maccabi Haifa 0–3 0–2
1. FC Köln Germany 3–7 Belgium Genk 2–4 1–3
Septemvri Sofia Bulgaria 4–1 Albania Akademia e Futbollit 3–0 1–1
Zvijezda 09 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0–3 Turkey Trabzonspor 0–1 0–2
Domžale Slovenia 2–3 Italy Empoli 1–2 1–1
Gabala Azerbaijan 0–11 Netherlands AZ 0–4 0–7
Miercurea Ciuc Romania 0–5 France Angers 0–2 0–3
Rangers Scotland 5–1 Sweden Hammarby IF 3–0 2–1
Rosenborg Norway 3–14 Denmark Midtjylland 2–4 1–10
St Patrick's Athletic Republic of Ireland 1–4 Serbia Red Star Belgrade 1–2 0–2

Second round[]

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Hajduk Split Croatia 4–1 Belarus Minsk 3–0 1–1
MTK Budapest Hungary 1–3 Belgium Genk 1–2 0–1
Deportivo La Coruña Spain 5–4 Israel Maccabi Haifa 5–1 0–3
Žilina Slovakia 3–3 (3–0 p) Kazakhstan Kairat 3–2 0–1
Red Star Belgrade Serbia 1–6 Italy Empoli 1–1 0–5
Trabzonspor Turkey 2–10 Denmark Midtjylland 2–5 0–5
Angers France 1–1 (4–5 p) Netherlands AZ 0–1 1–0
Septemvri Sofia Bulgaria 2–7[A] Scotland Rangers 2–4 0–3

Play-offs[]

The draw was conducted on 14 December 2021 12:00 CET at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. The play-offs will be played over one leg on 8 and 9 February 2022.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Empoli Italy 8 Feb Germany Borussia Dortmund
Genk Belgium 9 Feb England Chelsea
AZ Netherlands 8 Feb Spain Villarreal
Žilina Slovakia 8 Feb Italy Inter Milan
Hajduk Split Croatia 9 Feb Spain Atlético Madrid
Midtjylland Denmark 9 Feb Belgium Club Brugge
Deportivo La Coruña Spain 9 Feb Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv
Rangers Scotland 8 Feb Spain Sevilla

Knockout phase[]

Main article: 2021–22 UEFA Youth League knockout phase

Bracket (Round of 16 onwards)[]

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
15–16 March
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
22 April – Nyon
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
15–16 March
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
25 April – Nyon
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
15–16 March
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
22 April – Nyon
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
15–16 March
 
 
 
1–2 March
 
 
 
 
 

Round of 16[]

Qualified teams[]

Group Winners
(enter round of 16)
A France Paris Saint-Germain
B England Liverpool
C Portugal Sporting CP
D Spain Real Madrid
E Portugal Benfica
F England Manchester United
G Austria Red Bull Salzburg
H Italy Juventus

Quarter-finals[]

Semi-finals[]

Final[]

Main article:

Top goalscorers[]

As of 8 December 2021
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Denmark Mads Hansen Denmark Midtjylland 7
2 Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Hajduk Split 6
3 Slovakia Timotej Jambor Slovakia Žilina 5
Denmark Aral Simsir Denmark Midtjylland
Hungary Zalán Vancsa Hungary Budapest
England James McAtee England Manchester City
Belgium Cisse Sandra Belgium Brugge
France France Paris Saint-Germain

Notes[]

  1. ^ Order of legs reversed after original draw.

References[]

  1. ^ "Country coefficients 2021/22". UEFA.com.
  2. ^ a b c "2021/22 UEFA Youth League dates, format, contenders". uefa.com. UEFA. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Borges helps Man City claim Under-18 title". Premier League. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  4. ^ "RESUMEN El RC Deportivo de La Coruña se corona como el mejor juvenil de España (3-1)". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Calcio: Empoli campione d'Italia Primavera". corrieredellosport.it. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Zenit U17s and U18s win both the YFL championships". Zenit Football Club. 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Чемпіонат України U-19: «Шахтар» виграв золоті нагороди в особистих зустрічах із «Динамо»". Українська асоціація футболу. 16 May 2021.
  8. ^ "U19 şampiyonu Trabzonspor! Galatasaray - Trabzonspor U19 finali maç sonucu: 0-1". fanatik.com.tr. 14 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Wir sind U18-Meister!". FC Liefering. 1 May 2021.
  10. ^ https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40195782.html
  11. ^ "Décisions concernant les compétitions amateurs". Fédération Française de Football. 24 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Football. Privé de Youth League cette saison, le SCO qualifié directement pour la prochaine édition". ouest-france.fr. 26 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Abbruch der bundesweiten Junior*innen-Wettbewerbe beschlossen". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. 23 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Fünf deutsche Teams in der UEFA Youth League". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  15. ^ "UEFA Champions League group stage draw". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Draws | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations.

External links[]

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