Spain land UEFA Euro U-21 Championship

Spain have now equalled Italy’s record of winning five Under-21 European Championships following the victory over Germany in the final. They had started the tournament as one of the favourites, in which they proved a popular selection amongst many punters using the latest bonus codes for bet365. This was a very impressive victory from the side and bodes well for the future of the Spanish national side.

21 games, 78 goals, 1 winner…

Bravo, Spain #U21EURO pic.twitter.com/MHTAYGIrOT

— UEFA U21 EURO (@UEFAUnder21) June 30, 2019

They were originally drawn in Group A, which saw them face off against Italy, Poland and Belgium. This was expected to be a tough task to progress through with both Italy and Poland likely to pose a big threat. However, Spain managed to top the group on goal difference ahead of Italy and Poland, with each side finishing on six points. Belgium then finished bottom of the group, losing all three fixtures.

Spain started the competition with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Italy, despite taking an early lead through Dani Ceballos. Italy then grew into the game and following two goals from Federico Chiesa, they then finished off the victory via a late penalty from Lorenzo Pellegrini. Spain then had to win the following fixture against Belgium and opened the scoring after just six minutes. However, Belgium equalised early on in the first half and it appeared the game was heading for a draw with just a minute to go, despite Spain having 25 shots on goal. However, Pablo Fornals finally got the breakthrough in the 89^th minute, to give Spain a fantastic chance of progressing through.

Spain continued to improve as the tournament progressed and the final game of the group stage was a memorable one. They inflicted the only defeat to Poland, winning the game 5-0, in which they produced an incredible 33 shots in total. This meant they progressed through to the semi-finals against France, who had finished as runners up in Group C.

Spain again produced a stunning performance to win 4-1, despite France taking an early lead through a 16^th minute penalty. This was yet another dominant attacking performance as they created 19 shots, whilst also having the majority of possession. This display meant they progressed through to the final to face off against Germany in the Friuli Stadium.

Spain started as the strong favourites but it was a close game throughout but Spain were the most clinical. Firstly, Pena opened the scoring after just seven minutes before Dani Olmo all but sealed the game in the 69^th minute. Germany got a consolation goal in the 88^th minute but it was Spain who lifted the trophy for the fifth time in their history.