The 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 14th edition of the 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 event, during 29 April – 11 May 1996. 16 teams contested. Portugal defended its title to defeat France and win the title for a third but not consecutive time. Portugal was the first team to win the title two consecutive seasons (1995, 1996). Spain became the second team to repeat the achievement (2007 and 2008).
Squads
Participants
Austria
Croatia
England
France
Germany
Greece
Republic of Ireland
Israel
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Group stage
Group A
| 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
Amit Klein| Portugal | 3–0 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Paulo Costa 25', 50' Simão 55' |
Attendance: 
Mikko Vuorela
Mikko Vuorela| Republic of Ireland | 0–2 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Leal 58' Hugo Cruz 76' |
Referee: Kurt Zuppinger
Kurt Zuppinger| Poland | 0–1 | Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| McPhail 63' |
Referee: 
Costas Kapitanis
Costas KapitanisGroup B
| 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 |
Group C
| 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 |
| Spain | 4–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Couñago 5' Jaba 12' Duarte 32' (pen.) Novo 75' |
Rotanzi 2' |
Referee: 
Attila Juhos
Attila Juhos| France | 3–0 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Réveillère 26' Malbranque 52' (pen.) Suchet 60' (pen.) |
Referee: Graham Poll
Graham Poll| Croatia | 2–1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Deranja 24', 59' |
Chappuis 4' |
Attendance: 1,400
Group D
| 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 |
Knockout stages
Bracket
| 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) | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
| 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
Mikko VuorelaSemifinals
| Portugal | 3–0 | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Simão 6' (pen.) Paulo Costa 58'Edgar Caseiro 66' |