Spain and Ukraine will lock horns at Bucharest’s Steaua Stadium for a place in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final on Wednesday night.
It is worth remembering that Spain and Ukraine met during the group stage, with the two nations dishing up a 2-2 draw on Matchday 3.
Take a bow, Artem Bondarenko 👏#U21Skills | @HisenseSports | #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/u9SVNBYIRB— #U21EURO (@UEFAUnder21) July 2, 2023
Take a bow, Artem Bondarenko 👏#U21Skills | @HisenseSports | #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/u9SVNBYIRB
As a result, Spain and Ukraine both finished with seven points at the top of Group B, leaving Croatia and Romania six points behind.
Spain kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Romania before defeating Croatia 1-0, with Abel Ruiz’s 90th-minute equaliser earning La Rojita a draw against Ukraine.
In the quarter-finals, the Spaniards required extra-time to get the better of Switzerland, as Sergio Gomez and Juan Miranda got on the scoresheet.
Thanks to Saturday’s triumph, Spain head into Wednesday’s clash on an eight-game unbeaten streak across all competitions.
Having lost just two of their previous 33 matches in all competitions, Spain will be confident of dispatching Ukraine and reaching Saturday’s final.
On the flip side, Ukraine kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Croatia before securing a 1-0 win against Romania.
Following the 2-2 draw with Spain, the Ukrainians claimed a hugely impressive 3-1 victory over France, thanks largely to a brace from Heorhiy Sudakov.
Ukraine have now lost only three of their previous 24 matches across all competitions, highlighting their recent improvements.
It is also worth noting that Ukraine have scored at least one goal in each of their last 15 outings, so they will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net on Wednesday.
Head-to-head: Spain and Ukraine have faced each other twice at Under-21 level over the years, and the Ukrainians have failed to win on both occasions.
Following a 3-0 victory for Spain back in 2011, the two sides served up a 2-2 draw in the group stage of this year’s tournament.
Team news: Manchester City left-back Sergio Gomez has notched two goals and two assists in three appearances so far, while Braga forward Abel Ruiz has bagged two goals and one assist.
As for Ukraine, Georgiy Sudakov leads the Golden Boot race with three goals in four games, while Artem Bondarenko, Oleksiy Kashchuk and Danylo Sikan have each chalked up one goal and one assist.
Given what happened when these two sides met during the group stage, we are likely to see another entertaining encounter on Wednesday.
Forebet predicts that Spain and Ukraine will produce a high-scoring draw in Bucharest, meaning extra-time and/or penalties will be required to determine the winner.