See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started with a qualifying competition which began on 27 March 2009 and finished on 13 October 2010. The final tournament was held in Denmark between 11–25 June 2011.
The first stage of the qualifying competition was a group stage followed by play-offs. Each of the 10 group winners, as well as the four highest ranked second place teams, advanced to the play-off. The play-offs determined which seven nations joined Denmark in the final tournament. Denmark, as hosts, qualified automatically.
Teams that secured a place in the play-offs are highlighted in green in their respective qualifying groups. The teams are ordered by final group position.
| width=20% | Group 1 | width=20% | Group 2 | width=20% | Group 3 | width=20% | Group 4 | width=20% | Group 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=20% | Group 6 | width=20% | Group 7 | width=20% | Group 8 | width=20% | Group 9 | width=20% | Group 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In case of equal points, the teams are ranked by their head-to-head record:
If some teams have equal head-to-head record, then the following tiebreaks apply:
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 1.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 2.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 7.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 9.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 10.
Since Groups 1 and 2 were composed of six teams, results against the 6th-ranked team were excluded.
See main article: 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs. The play-off first legs played on 9 October 2010, second legs played on 13 October 2010.
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| width=14% | Country ! | width=27% | Qualified as! | width=14% | Date qualification was secured ! | width=45% | Previous appearances in tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host | 10 December 2008 | 4 (1978, 1986, 1992, 2006) | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 11 October 2010 | 2 (2002, 2004) | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 11 October 2010 | First appearance | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 12 October 2010 | 10 (1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009) | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 12 October 2010 | 10 (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2009) | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 12 October 2010 | 2 (2004, 2009) | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 12 October 2010 | 4 (1996, 2000, 2002, 2007) | |||||
| Play-off winners against | 12 October 2010 | 1 (2006) |