UEFA U21 European Championship — Tips and bets

In what is a huge game for both sides, the fact that a draw would be enough for both to qualify could mean that neither really opens up.
Hosts Italy currently occupy the best runner-up spot so the local support within the stadium could turn on the players if they feel both teams are playing for a point.
France haven't performed particularly well for large parts of their matches so far and will need to improve to beat a Romania side that have scored eight times and are fast becoming a dark horse to go all the way.

England’s youth sides have enjoyed a brilliant spell of results in recent years, but the under 21s are a real sticking point. There are plenty of explanations, with players cherry-picked from the team to go to the senior squad. The likes of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho could have done a lot at this tournament, but they’ve each been left out. Boothroyd has come in for a lot of criticism, while he’s dealing with the age group where players tend to stop developing. English clubs are so stacked with talent that their under 21 sides have always had issues.

England’s issues have been seen in their recent games, as they’ve lost three on the bounce. They’ve conceded eight times across those losses, while their last six games have seen both teams score. Given that their previous two encounters with Croatia have seen both teams find the net, we expect to see goals here. That comes with Croatia heading into this clash having leaked five goals in two matches in Italy this summer.

With nothing to play for between these two sides, we expect a more open game with plenty of goals. That’s what we’ve come to expect from the tournament so far, while England have seen both teams score and at least three goals in five of their last six matches. We can see a repeat of that here, with both teams showing clear issues in defence.

England head into the Under 21 European Championships aiming to go all the way, especially following the build-up of hype around English football. Their impressive displays in youth tournaments was followed up by their run in Russia last year, which has lifted expectations for the Young Lions. Meanwhile, France come into this clash with the small boost of their senior side being crowned world champions 12 months ago. Can their young talents follow that up with success here?

While these two sides are coming to the Euros packed with talented stars, they aren’t at full strength. There are a few decent names who haven’t made the trip to Italy for one reason or another. Champions League winner Trent Alexander-Arnold and teammate Joe Gomez are both eligible for England; along with Marcus Rashford, Harry Winks and Ben Chilwell. France are missing World Cup winners Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard, while they’ve left out Spurs target Tanguy Ndombele, Ousmane Dembele and Kingsley Coman.

Spain first beat Belgium 2-1, a result they followed up by crushing Poland 5-0. The Poles had been in top spot at the time, so to record that heavy victory to book a semi-final place shows the talent in this Spanish team. Meanwhile, France were never really pushed on their way to finishing second in Group C. They pulled off a late turnaround to see off England, while they narrowly edged out a poor Croatia side.

The main problem for France has been their finishing. They missed two penalties against England, then scored just once in the two games which followed. Spain are now showing a balance across their side which makes them seem formidable, so we’re backing Spain for a victory on Thursday.

The heavyweight semi-final at the Under 21 European Championships on Thursday pits together Spain and France. The Spanish are regular contenders at this competition, while France have made it for the first time in the last seven tournaments. Les Bleus are coming off their senior side winning the world cup, but do they have another steady stream of young talent behind their current world champions?

Spain are looking at the Under 21 side as part of a wider rebuild. They are trying to retool their senior side, which was allowed to drift with too many old stars carried over. Ten years ago the Spanish were ruthless about including the very best talent and only picking players who were getting minutes. They need a new batch of stars for the future, which can be seen in this Under 21 side.

This France side isn’t a stellar one, but they do have some potential stars of the future. They have talented players in the shape of Ibrahima Konaté and Houssem Aouar, but overall this squad won’t be the backbone of the squad down the line, as the current French senior side is already young enough. Winning the title would show strength in depth, but do France have that much talent?

Spain have come to the Euros with a clear aim of winning the title. They’ve made a strong squad selection including some experienced top stars, which has left them pushing for glory as the competition wraps up this week. They did well just to survive this long, after losing to Italy in their opener. The Spanish bounced back from that with two victories, which suggests they are back in form and ready to go all the way in Italy this summer.

France are already world champions, but can they add the Under 21 European Championship to their trophy cabinet? They haven’t managed to win this competition since 1988, which is a huge gap for a country who have produced so many talented players over the years. In fact, France hadn’t even qualified for the last six tournaments ahead of this one, so they are certainly making the most of this visit to the finals. Will they follow that up with a victory over Romania this week?

These two sides head into the final game level, with the pair on six points from their opening clashes. France claimed a huge 2-1 victory over England. That result effectively knocked the stuffing out of the Young Lions, which helped Romania. They were able to win 4-2 against England in their last game, with both of these sides seeing off Croatia so far. That means the two teams are top of the pile on six points each heading into their final day meeting.

Romania have been the real dark horse of the tournament so far, emerging as the hipster choice given their impressive form in front of goal. They’ve scored eight times in their opening two games in Italy, which has put them on the verge of the last four. They qualified for the finals for the first time, having made it back in 1998 as hosts. They lost both games that year, while this time around Romania have two wins already and they’ve got an eye on the next round.

Romania booked their place in the second round in surprise fashion, topping Group C. They made a great start with two wins in their opening two games, while they played out a 0-0 draw in their final clash with France. That draw was quite a shift from their opening games – which saw 11 goals between them. That’s because a point guaranteed both Romania and France a semi-final spot, so neither side wanted to take any risks in that clash.

Romania are likely to up their game in this semi-final, as they look to get back to their early attacking ways. They won their opening two clashes by scoring four goals in each. They put four past England in just 14 minutes in their second game, so they should be out to take the game to Germany in Thursday’s first semi-final clash. That comes after they scored 13 goals in the five matches before the tournament began, so this Romania side are obviously packing a punch going forward. However, you can say the same about reigning champions Germany.

The Germans hit 10 goals of their own in the group stage, so we can expect a high scoring clash on Thursday in Bologna. They have seen both teams score in their last six games ahead of this encounter with Romania, so we expect goals between two sides who clearly have little trouble creating chances for themselves. We anticipate an open game between these two, so we’re going with both teams to score as our main tip for this semi. We’re also backing Germany to edge the tie with a 2-1 victory.

Defending champions Germany are continuing their bid to secure another Under 21 European Championship this week. They are going up against Romania – the dark horses in this tournament. We’ve seen some impressive displays from Germany yet again, as a nearly entirely new squad looks to emulate the achievements of 2017. Can they stamp their authority on this tournament with a victory on Thursday?

The Germans made a flying start to the group, kicking off with a 3-1 win over Denmark. They then trounced Serbia 6-1 in their second game, all but securing their place in the semis. All Germany needed in their last group game was a 1-1 draw with Austria, which saw them make it through as the top side in Group B. Their next aim is to book a place in this weekend’s final.

This France side isn’t a stellar one, but they do have some potential stars of the future. They have talented players in the shape of Ibrahima Konaté and Houssem Aouar, but overall this squad won’t be the backbone of the squad down the line, as the current French senior side is already young enough. Winning the title would show strength in depth, but do France have that much talent?

Spain have come to the Euros with a clear aim of winning the title. They’ve made a strong squad selection including some experienced top stars, which has left them pushing for glory as the competition wraps up this week. They did well just to survive this long, after losing to Italy in their opener. The Spanish bounced back from that with two victories, which suggests they are back in form and ready to go all the way in Italy this summer.

Spain were level on points with both Poland and Italy in Group A but finished top due to their superior goal difference. They lost their first group game to Italy but recovered to close the group stage with successive wins over Belgium and Poland - beating the latter 5-0.

France qualified for the last four as the best second-place team, with seven points from three matches. Despite having some quality players at their disposal, they have underwhelmed this summer. They scored twice in the last six minutes to beat England and only scored one goal over their last two matches.

Germany shows a lot of promise with great youngsters and a great team the output is expected to be a magnificent one would bet on Germany to a nice outcome Serbia is not of the bookstore they can spring of surprises which is why I would also opt in for a GoGo situation

On paper this should be the best semi-final tie but Spain should make the final with relative ease.

Both teams have greater tendency of recording a goal or more so double chance in terms of goals and ball in net advantages

Netherlands will qualify with a win 2+-0 even if Germany draws against Romania