The 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 14th edition of UEFA's European Under-16 Football Championship. Players born on or after 1 August 1979 were eligible to participate in this competition. 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) |
← 1995 1997 → | |
| 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
| Portugal | 3–0 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Paulo Costa 25', 50' Simão 55' |
Attendance: 
Mikko Vuorela
| Austria | 0–0 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 0–2 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Leal 58' Hugo Cruz 76' |
Referee: 
Kurt Zuppinger
| Poland | 0–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| McPhail 63' |
Referee: 
Costas Kapitanis
| Austria | 2–2 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Hack 34' Kahraman 74' |
Hugo Cruz 8' Petit 22' |
| 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 |
| Greece | 2–1 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Romania | 0–1 | Ukraine |
|---|---|---|
| Romania | 0–1 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | 1–6 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 4–1 | Romania |
|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | 1–1 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| France | 2–0 | Croatia |
|---|---|---|
Attendance: 600
| Spain | 4–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Couñago 5' Jaba 12' Duarte 32' (pen.) Novo 75' |
Rotanzi 2' |
Referee: 
Attila Juhos
| France | 3–0 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Réveillère 26' Malbranque 52' (pen.) Suchet 60' (pen.) |
Referee: 
Graham Poll
| Croatia | 2–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Deranja 24', 59' |
Chappuis 4' |
Attendance: 1,400
| Switzerland | 0–1 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 1–0 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Deranja 5' |
Attendance: 600
| 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 |
| England | 2–0 | Slovakia |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | 3–0 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| England | 2–1 | Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 0–2 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Israel | 2–1 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Slovakia | 2–0 | Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | ||||||||
| ||||||||||
| 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
| Greece | 1–0 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Israel | 3 – 2 (a.e.t.) | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 3–0 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Simão 6' (pen.) Paulo Costa 58'Edgar Caseiro 66' |
| France | 1–0 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Vieira 52' |
| Greece | 2–3 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 1–0 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Petit 43' |
Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)