Road to glory: Semi-finals unveil contenders for U21 European Championship | OneFootball

The 2023 UEFA Under-21 European Championship semi-finals get underway on Wednesday as the tournament, co-hosted by Romania and Georgia, nears its climax.

With reigning holders Germany knocked out in the group stage, the 24th edition of the biennial competition will crown a new champion by the end of the week.

Batumi will host the semi-final tie between Israel and England, while Spain and Ukraine face each other in Bucharest.

Let’s take a closer look at the matches.

Israel vs England

Despite only winning once in three outings in Group C (D1, L1), Israel made it out of the group stage, leaving the Czech Republic and defending champions Germany in their wake.

But they finished five points adrift of section leaders England, who steamrolled to the knockout phase with three group victories and an impressive +6 goal difference.

Guy Luzon’s side upset the odds in the quarter-finals, dumping out co-hosts Georgia on penalties following a tepid scoreless draw across 120 minutes despite facing extremely hostile hospitality in Tbilisi.

As they’ve never come this far in the tournament, Israel will be hugely motivated to upset the apple cart at the Adjarabet Arena against a more heavily fancied England.

However, Lee Carsley’s men have enjoyed a flawless tournament, winning all four games without conceding, including a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Still waiting for their first Euro U21 title in the 21st century, the Young Lions are into the semi-finals for only the second time in their last seven tournament appearances.

Spain vs Ukraine

If any side can hinder England’s quest to claim the coveted title, it’s Spain. But Santi Denia’s side have shown signs of vulnerability on the back of an eye-catching start to their Euro U-21 journey.

Following back-to-back triumphs ‘to nil’ over Romania and Croatia to kick things off in Group B, the Spaniards let complacency get the better of them in a 2-2 draw against Ukraine on matchday three.

La Rojita had to survive extra-time drama to overcome Switzerland in the quarter-finals as Joan Miranda’s 103rd-minute winner propelled them to a pulsating 2-1 victory.

They have equalled Italy’s record of 12 top-four finishes, but there’s another piece of history up for grabs as they look to break the tie with the Azzurrini, with both countries sharing five titles apiece.

Ukraine will hope to stop Spain in their tracks after a sensational 3-1 victory over a star-studded France in the last knockout round, inspired by Georgiy Sudakov’s first-half brace.

The Shakhtar Donetsk youngster may have made the headlines with his scoring exploits, but Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk was running the show in Cluj with a superb individual showing.

Ruslan Rotan’s team will need their standout performer to maintain his form in Bucharest if they’re to book a final date for the first time since 2006 when they lost to the Netherlands in the title decider.

But it’s worth noting that this is only their second appearance at the final tournament since a 3-0 heartache in Porto 17 years ago, with their only previous foray in 2011 ending in the group stage.