2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship – Spain vs France Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Spain vs France taking place? Thursday 27th June 2019 – 20:00 (UK)
Where is Spain vs France taking place? MAPEI Stadium - Città del Tricolore, Reggio nell'Emilia
What television channel is Spain vs France on? Sky Sports Football
Where can I stream Spain vs France? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go
Where can I get tickets for Spain vs France? https://www.uefa.com/under21/news/newsid=2597855.html
THE TEAM NEWS
SPAIN
- Spain needed a big win against Poland to ensure qualification and they rose to the challenge with a dominant performance which resulted in a 5-0 win to earn them top spot in Group A ahead of Italy and Poland.
- Fabián Ruiz and Dani Ceballos were massive influences as Spain overwhelmed Poland with both players capping their performances by getting their names on the scoresheet.
- Spain will look to control the possession and tempo of the game and have had 61% possession across their three matches in the group stage which is the most of any team in the tournament.
FRANCE
- France qualified for the semi-finals as the best second-placed team, they needed only a point against Romania in their final group match to be sure of a spot in the semi-finals and secured their place with a 0-0 draw which also suited Romania.
- Their solid defence has been a big factor in them qualifying for the semi-finals, they had the best defensive record of any team in the group stage with only one goal conceded.
- On the flip side they need to pose much more of a threat in front of goal as they were the second lowest scoring team in the group stage with only three goals scored and one of those was an own goal.
THE PREDICTION
Spain are looking to make it through to the EURO U21 final for the fourth time in five tournaments against France who were last at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2006 when they also reached the semi-finals. Spain responded well to losing their opening match of the tournament against Italy by defeating Belgium and thrashing Poland to earn their place in the last four and they will be buoyant after hitting five against Poland. France have made it through on the back of some solid defensive work with no goals conceded since they went 1-0 down against England on matchday one. It will be difficult for Spain to break down the French defence but they have creative players capable of making the crucial breakthrough and their key man Dani Ceballos could prove to be the match winner as Spain make it into another EURO U21 final.
