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.
| 1998 Ευρωπαϊκό πρωτάθλημα ποδοσφαίρου Κ-18 (in Greek) | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Cyprus |
| Dates | 19–26 July |
| Teams | 8 (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 played | 14 |
| Goals scored | 45 (3.21 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Enrico Kern (4 goals) |
Qualification
edit50 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
editA total of 6 referees, 7 assistant referees and 2 fourth officials officiated the tournament.
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Squads
editEach national team submitted a squad of 18 players, including two goalkeepers.
Group stage
editGroup A
edit| 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 |
Group B
edit| 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' |
Third place match
editFinal
edit| Republic of Ireland | 1–1 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| A. Quinn 70' | Report | Gensler 89' |
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
Qualification to World Youth Championship
editThe six best performing teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Goalscorers
editThere were 45 goals scored in 14 matches, for an average of 3.21 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
Mihael Mikić
Gerard
Robbie Keane
Marco Almeida
2 goals
Lee Matthews
Sebastian Deisler- Andreas Gensler
- Liam George
1 goal
1 own goal
- Jonathan Woodgate (against Cyprus)