| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Czechoslovakia |
| Dates | 22–27 July |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Soviet Union (5th title) |
| Runners-up |  Portugal |
| Third place |  East Germany |
| Fourth place |  Spain |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Goals scored | 26 (2.6 per match) |
← 1986 1990 → | |
The UEFA European Under-18 Championship 1988 Final Tournament was held in Czechoslovakia. It also served as the European qualification for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship.
The following teams qualified for the tournament:
Czechoslovakia (host, but still qualified)
Denmark East Germany 
Netherlands 
Norway Portugal Soviet Union Spain | East Germany | 2 – 0 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
Lars Hermel  15'Uwe Jähnig 38' |
| Spain | 1 – 0 | Czechoslovakia |
|---|---|---|
| Soviet Union | 4 – 2 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 3 – 0 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| João Pinto 26' Valido 41'Folha 74' |
| Norway | 1 – 1 | Denmark |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
| 5 – 4 | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 1 – 0 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Soviet Union | 3 – 0 | East Germany |
|---|---|---|
| East Germany | 2 – 0 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Henri Fuchs 56', 73' |
| Soviet Union | 3 – 1 (aet) | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Andrei Timochenko 78' Yuri Nikiforov 102'Oleg Salenko 117' | João Pinto 55' |
The six best performing teams qualified for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship.