The following criteria are applied (Regulations Article 15.02):[2] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the UEFA Executive Committee approved on 28 August 2020 the following principles for the qualifying phase of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship:[6] The qualifying matches were played on dates that fell within the FIFA International Match Calendar.

The qualifying group stage was originally to end in October 2020, but was extended to November 2020 due to the postponement of the matches in March 2020.

[3][4][5] The draw for the qualifying group stage was held on 11 December 2018, 09:00 CET (UTC+1), at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Based on the decisions taken by the UEFA Emergency Panel, Spain and Gibraltar, and Serbia and Kosovo would not be drawn in the same group.

The draw for the play-offs, to decide the matchups and the order of legs, was intended to be held on 16 October 2020 at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.