After Israel and Spain, Ukraine and England have reached the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Football Championship. Against France, Ukraine won 3-1 despite falling behind.
Georgi Sudakov scored two goals for Ukraine on Sunday evening (07/02/2023) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, which thanks to the victory has also qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. First, the midfielder from Shakhtar Donetsk converted a penalty after a foul on Mikhailo Mudryk (32′), then the Chelsea professional put it on to make it 2-1 (44′). Artem Bondarenko, also from Shakhtar, made the decision in the 86th minute.
Rayan Cherki from Olympique Lyon gave the French the lead (19′).
Gordon with the golden goal for England
England had previously lived up to their role as slight favorites and defeated Portugal 1-0. The Brits had confidently walked through the group with three wins, including 2-0 wins against Israel and Germany. Portugal, on the other hand, had struggled and therefore went into the game as a slight outsider.
The game in Kutaisi, Georgia, was at least balanced, in the second half the Portuguese even had clear advantages and a clear plus in goal shot ratio.
Only Anthony Gordon, who plays for Newcastle United in the Premier League, scored a goal. His goal in the 34th minute decided the duel. Portugal were ultimately too harmless in attack to give Britain the first goal of the tournament.
England’s semi-final opponents Israel beat co-hosts Georgia on penalties on Saturday. Thanks to England’s entry into the semi-finals, it is clear that Israel will also take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
semi-finals in Batumi and Bucharest
The two semi-finals will be played on Wednesday (07/05/2023). The game between Israel and England will kick off at 6 p.m. in Batumi, Georgia. Three hours later it starts in Bucharest, Romania. Spain meet Ukraine at Ghencea Stadium, Steaua’s new home ground.
These two teams also met in the group stage. The game ended 2-2 but has little bearing on Wednesday’s clash as both coaches rested their best players as the teams had already qualified for the quarter-finals.