Spain and Germany will contest Saturday’s UEFA Under-19 EURO final after overcoming Croatia and Ukraine respectively in the semi-finals.
The final will be played in Wrexham on Saturday 11 July, with kick-off at 19:00pm. Get your tickets now.
Meanwhile, Denmark secured qualification for the FIFA U20 World Cup play-offs by defeating Italy in a dramatic preliminary play-off that was decided by a penalty shootout in Bangor.
Ukraine 1-2 Germany
Germany booked their place in the final with a dramatic late victory over Ukraine in Wrexham.
The opening half had offered few clear opportunities until Ukraine struck first in the 43rd minute. Vitaliy Hlyut rose highest to head in Nikita Kaliuzhnyi’s cross, giving his side the advantage with their first effort on target.
Germany responded just before the interval through Otto Stange, who weaved past two defenders before calmly curling his finish into the bottom corner to restore parity.
The second half saw Germany dominate possession and create the better chances, but Ukraine’s defence stood firm for much of the contest. Stange looked certain to score again in the 88th minute, only for Yehor Sherstiuk to produce a superb last-ditch challenge. However, Germany finally found the breakthrough in stoppage time when captain Francis Onyeka fired home from close range to send his side into the final.
The victory takes Germany to their first Under-19 EURO final since lifting the trophy in 2014.
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Christian Wörns, Germany coach, speaking to UEFA: “I feel that we dominated the whole match. Once again, we conceded a goal out of nowhere. That was Ukraine’s only shot on our goal. In the second half, we had a spell of around ten minutes where we created three big chances and really should have decided the match early. Of course, the good thing about a lucky punch like that is that there is not much playing time left at the end. So now we are happy to have reached the final and to have our rematch against Spain.”
Francis Onyeka, Germany captain, speaking to UEFA: “It means a lot. To score in the last minute was a great feeling. We worked hard for this moment, to be in the final now. It’s two or three years we’ve been working and we’re so happy.”
Otto Stange, Germany striker, speaking to UEFA: “It’s unbelievable. We spoke before the game about how much we wanted to reach the final and now we’ve made it to the biggest stage in youth. It’s top.”
Dmytro Mikhailenko, Ukraine coach, speaking to UEFA: “I’m very proud of the boys. It was a tough game and it’s really sad to lose in that way, conceding twice in stoppage time [once in the first half, the other in the second]. It’s a big disappointment for us to lose this game.”
Vitaliy Hlyut, Ukraine goalscorer, speaking to UEFA: “It’s not the result we wanted, we obviously wanted to win and go all the way, but that’s football and it happens. Regardless, I’m really happy for the journey that we had and we’ll keep working to get better.”
Spain 3-0 Croatia
Spain continued their impressive tournament with a convincing victory over Croatia to secure their place in the final, with Parco Gallardo yet to concede a goal.
La Roja made a bright start and nearly opened the scoring early on when Daniel Yañez tested Maroje Kostopeč after being picked out by Quim Junyent. Their pressure paid off before the quarter-hour mark as Xavi Espart drilled a low effort into the bottom-right corner from outside the penalty area.
Croatia enjoyed more possession either side of half-time but struggled to trouble Spain’s organised defence. Spain doubled their advantage in the 54th minute when Jorge Salinas finished confidently after an excellent assist from Thiago Pitarch.
Croatia’s best spell followed, with Noa Mikić forcing a save from Manu González, but any hopes of a comeback disappeared in the 83rd minute as substitute Ousmane Diallo converted Hugo López’s cross to complete a comfortable 3-0 win.
Spain have now reached their 11th Under-19 EURO semi-final victory and remain unbeaten in the tournament. They are yet to concede a goal and have scored 17 times as they chase a record-extending tenth title.
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Paco Gallardo, Spain coach, speaking to UEFA: “Since that day [losing the 2025 final] I’ve been dreaming of getting the trophy. But we’re a long way away. We’ll surely have a tough opponent. Both Ukraine and Germany are very hard opponents. But let’s hope we can make it.”
Xavi Espart, Spain goalscorer, speaking to UEFA: “To be honest, it’s a real honour to be here in the final of this European Championship. I think we’ve worked incredibly hard to get here, and in the end we’ve earned it because we’ve been playing outstanding football. We’re going into the final full of confidence.”
Thiago Pitarch, Spain midfielder, speaking to UEFA: “I’m really happy. This is the goal we set when we arrived here, and we’ve reached it now. We only have to win one more game to win this tournament, and we’ll give it our all.”
Denmark clinch U20 FIFA World Cup place
Denmark secured their place in the U20 FIFA World Cup play-offs with a preliminary round play-off win against Italy in Bangor, with the match ending in a penalty shootout.
The match was a physical end to end encounter with the sides denying each other the opportunity for many clear chances. The best opportunity of the game came in the first half of extra time for Italy as a header across goal from close range by Samuel Wiafe hit the crossbar.
With a World Cup place at stake, both goalkeepers forced a save each to send the penalty shootout to sudden death. Destiny Elimoghale saw his strike sail over the bar to allow the chance for Simon Stüker to roll his penalty to the opposite side of Massimo Pessina’s dive to secure the win for Denmark.
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