Skip to main content

European U21 Championship: Star-studded Spain look set to reign supreme

Germany U21 v Spain U21
Friday 30th June, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports


Pre-tournament favourites Spain have been chalked up as fair 2.00 shots to clinch their third U21 European Championship crown in four editions following an unblemished passage to Friday's final in Krakow.

La Rojita secured their spot in the showpiece decider courtesy of a 3-1 victory over 10-man Italy on Tuesday evening; Atletico Madrid starlet Saul Niguez scoring a sensational second-half hat-trick to give Albert Celades's side a fourth win from four fixtures in Poland.

Spain started the tournament as the team to beat - only outright glory will be accepted back home from a squad that was outlined from the off as the strongest, player-for-player. La Rojita certainly haven't disappointed and their flawless performance from the group-stages deserves immense credit.

The Iberians sealed their semi-final berth with three wins from three, racking up nine goals and conceding just one - a stunning Bruma effort against their main threat in Group B, Portugal. Spain even had the luxury of resting their first-choice XI in their pool concluder against Serbia.

Seven of the squad boast senior experience and the strength in depth across Spanish football is so absurd that the likes of Inaki Williams, Denis Suarez andMikel Oyarzabal are far from guaranteed a place in the starting XI.

The Spanish midfield is the most competitive element of the La Rojita team with Saul, Dani Ceballos and Marcos Llorente orchestrating a front-three of Marco Asensio, Sandro Ramirez and skipper Gerard Deulofeu. Spain simply have the arsenal to ruthlessly exploit any hint of weakness in opposition defences.

That's how the four-time champions overcame Italy. La Rojita dominated possession against the Azzurrini but were limited to a single effort on-target during the opening period whilst facing four. But Roberto Gagliardini's naive 58th minute sending off shortly after Saul's opener proved decisive.

Federico Bernardeschi's equaliser was a pleasant leveller but in truth the game was already gone. Spain's individual brilliance told, as did the added freshness of their starters as they left Italy chasing shadows, picking off the Group C winners on the counter-attack to comfortably seal their spot in Krakow.

Spain have now scored 12 goals from just 58 attempts - a stunning 21% conversion rate - with their phenomenal finishing easily out-stripping their expected goals output. But if there's one doubt over this side, it's arguably their lack of a collective system that's previously been imposed in the past.

Critics back home suggest Celades is merely a puppet master in the dugout with the incredible individual ability in the squad putting Spain on the path to silverware, as opposed to any tactical tweaks. And La Rojita did appear uncomfortable when pressed high by Portugal earlier in the competition.

Germany 4.20 went 120 minutes against England on Tuesday night before progressing with a 4-3 triumph on penalties and head coach Stefan Kuntz's is expected to ensure his troops restrict Spain's movement, especially at full-back where Jonny and Hector Bellerin are encouraged to push high up the park.

Kuntz made his first changes of the competition ahead of the England encounter and his options are thinning for the final. With Niklas Sule and Matthias Ginter with the seniors and Jonathan Tah injured, Niklas Stark's absence was keenly felt at centre-half during the semi-final.

Gideon Jung stood in at centre-half and looks like being required once more whilst centre-forward Davie Selkie - who found the net against England - is now rated a major doubt for Germany.

Die Mannschaft overcame an early swarm of English attacks to take control of their final-four clash but alarming defending from set-pieces and a series of flaky finishes kept the scores locked level until the shoot-out.

Germany are in the final for the third occasion but the 2009 winners don't appear to have the tools at their disposal to spoil or stifle the classy Spaniards. A midfield consisting of Max Meyer, Mahmoud Dahoud and Maximilian Arnold are more likely to add value going forward and with their backline struggling, Kuntz's charges are best opposed here.

Germany may have won 16 of their past 20 at this level but Spain arrive on the back of an unbeaten 13-match run W10-D3-L0 and should be capable of clinching a record-equalling fifth U21 European Championship title.

Recommended Bet
Back Spain to win 2.00

Popular posts from this blog

Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund: Eagles to build a wall in Berlin

Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund Saturday 27 May, 19:00 Live on BT Sport ESPN Eintracht Frankfurt This time last season, Eintracht Frankfurt were  fighting for survival  in a Bundesliga playoff against second-tier side Nurnberg. Fast forward a year, and they are preparing for their first major cup final since 2006, having finished well clear of relegation trouble this term. Having steered the Eagles through that playoff against Nurnberg, coach  Niko Kovac  set about galvanising not just the squad, but the entire club. Working with sporting director Bruno Hubner and former Germany striker Fredi Bobic,  Kovac has injected new life into an organisation that was drifting. Youngsters like defender  Jesus Vallejo  and forward Ante Rebic have been brought in on loan to good effect, and astute pickups like holding midfielder Omar Mascarell and forward Branimir Hrgota have become effective cogs in the machine. Although Frankfurt have twice...

Goals in Confederations Cup : Spain vs Uruguay 2-1

Tottenham’s Dele Alli eyes Premier League debut at Manchester United

It was quite the opening statement. Dele Alli, 24 minutes into his first start in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt, suckered in Luka Modric of Real Madrid, nutmegged him and accelerated away. The 70,000 sell-out crowd at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena roared at the 19-year-old’s sheer impudence. "We had a laugh about it in the tunnel afterwards; he was very good about it,” Alli said. "He shook my hand and said to me: ‘You little bugger’ – or something like that. I didn’t shout ‘nuts’ when I did it. I used to do that when I was young and get told off for it." As Alli spoke at the Allianz after Tuesday’s 2-0 Audi Cup victory, some of Real’s galácticos filed past. This time last year the midfielder was preparing for MK Dons’ League One season opener against Gillingham. His previous competitive game was for MK against Yeovil in May. Alli says “unreal” and “surreal” on a number of occasions and it is little wonder. This is a young player of conviction. If the nutmeg on one of...