Prediction: Germany U21 vs Spain U21

Verdict: Away win

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: William Hill

Germany didn’t exactly impress on the road to the final and they defeated England in the semis after a penalty shoot-out, but they are looking to defy the odds and lift their second European Championship trophy at the Under-21 level. Meanwhile, red-hot Spain are after their fifth title and they head into the final as clear favourites after several impressive showings.

Germany U21

While the senior national team have been quite impressive over the last decade or so, Germany haven’t enjoyed too much success at Under 21 level, winning just one European Championship trophy in 2009. They also reached the semi-finals at the previous edition in Czech Republic and not too many people expected them to fight for the trophy in Poland. Stefan Kuntz’s men indeed did not impress, but managed to secure their progress to the semi-finals thanks to opening wins over Czech Republic and Denmark. Following the 1-0 loss to Italy that followed, Germany enjoyed a penalty win over England to make it to the final, where they will square off against star-studded Spain side. Joachim Low’s decision not to take his strongest side to the 2017 Confederations Cup clearly hurt the Under-21 team as the likes of Ginter, Henrichs, Sule, Younes, Brandt and Werner could have traveled to Poland instead. This way, head coach Kuntz has to mostly rely on Serge Gnabry, Max Meyer, Mahmoud Dahoud and David Selke, who obviously have potential, but are still some way off from succeeding on the biggest stage.

Team News

Stefan Kuntz is sweating over the fitness of David Selke and Niklas Stark, who will be assessed ahead of the Spain clash.

Spain U21

Unlike their next opponents, Spain have dominated European football at senior and youth levels in recent years, and they’ve got four U21 titles to their name, one fewer than record holders Italy. La Roja met none other than the Azzurrini in the semi-finals in Poland, having previously enjoyed landslide wins over FYR Macedonia (5-0), Portugal (3-1) and Serbia (1-0). The amount of talent on display in that game was amazing and visiting scouts definitely had a lot to see, but Atletico Madrid playmaker Saul stole the show, bagging a second-half hat-trick to secure a 3-1 victory for his side. Real Madrid target Dani Ceballos and their starlet Marco Asensio also impressed against Italy, but the list of players who can hurt Germany is quite long. With all of them playing important roles in La Liga clubs, Albert Celades has got a real gem of a team on his disposal and it is perfectly clear that the title is Spain’s to lose and with online bookmakers offering good odds on La Roja, we are tempted to back them to win in regular time.

Team News

There have been no reported selection problems for Albert Celades, who is unlikely to make major changes to the side that defeated Italy.

Key Factors to Consider

• Spain U21 won four of six meetings with Germany U21 (D1 L1)
• Spain won all four matches at the tournament finals
• La Roja have been averaging three goals per game in Poland
• Germany missing a host of key men as they were promoted to senior side
• Spain have four U21 Euro titles to their name as opposed to Germany’s single trophy

Conclusion

Spain have been on fire at the tournament finals and we don’t see how severely weakened Germany side will match them in Krakow. Stefan Kuntz is without a number of star players as they were drafted into Joachim Low’s Confederations Cup squad, and that is going to be a huge loss when facing in-form La Roja.

Verdict: Away win

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: William Hill