European U21 Championship Final

"Is football coming home?" This is the question football fans are asking ahead of the U21 EURO 2023 final. Where the national team failed in the EURO 20/21 final against Italy, the youngsters now can bring the trophy home on Saturday when they beat Spain, in the Adjarabet Arena in Georgia. Spain go into the final full of confidence after beating surprise team Ukraine 5-1, who even led 1-0. This scenario is nothing new for them either, after "La Roja" is now in its ninth European Championship finals, of which they have won five to date.

However, the "Young Lions" should not be underestimated. Without conceding a single goal, they played confidently all the way to the final, in which they could now secure their third European Cup. Only one other team in the U21 World Cup has managed that so far. Spain! 

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England reached the final without conceding a goal

In an exciting semi-final between England and Israel, the "Young Lions" were able to convince and move into the final. Morgan Gibbs-White became a hero after a missed penalty when he scored the opener with an impressive header in the 42nd minute. Cole Palmer and Cameron Archer then found a way past the battered Israeli defense and secured the clear victory. Lee Carsley, the coach, praised his young teamand was delighted with England's first final appearance since 2009. 

After the England women's national team thrilled at Euro 2022, continental success is now within reach for the U21 team. England's U-21 team have not won a European Championship title for 39 years and will now face Spain, perhaps their toughest opponents. However, the defence, reinforced by James Trafford, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Levi Colwill, has not conceded a goal so far and even proved too strong for 2021 finalists Germany and Portugal.

England scored three goals against Israel, despite a bitter pre-game injury incident that saw Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey ruled out with an ankle problem picked up in the quarter-final win over Portugal. Fortunately for Carsley, the Young Lions coach did not have to watch other players develop physical problems on Wednesday.He also gets a timely double defensive reinforcement with the return of Max Aarons and Ben Johnson from suspensions. Aarons could immediately replace Luke Thomas on left, but James Garner has proved himself as a backup right-back throughout the tournament and Carsley should see no reason to bench the Everton man.

Spain in the final

Spain may not match England's impeccable defence in defence, but what Santi Denia's side sometimes lacked in defence they more than made up for in attack. Not to be taken lightly after beating France and drawing 2-2 with Spain in the group stage, Ukraine needed just 13 minutes to put Artem Bondarenko ahead, but then the Spanish began Carnage: Abel Ruiz, Oihan Sancet, Antonio Blanco, Aimar Oroz and Sergio Gomez all contributed to the win. Spain are now in the final of the U21 European Championship for the ninth time. Five-time cup winners - level with Italy - they have lifted the trophy three times since England's last U21 triumph: in 2011, 2013 and 2019 Batumi, with the last loss to Portugal coming in the 2021 semifinals.

Spain's coach should also be able to call on all of his players on Saturday. Two of the tournament's top three scorers are in the ranks of the Rojita. Manchester City left-back Gomez, who is operating in an advanced position, and Braga striker Ruiz have both already scored three goals, level with Ukrainian striker Heorhiy Sudakov. Despite scoring 11 goals in La Liga last season and being linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs, Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga is just an outsider at Denia - he was on the bench throughout the tournament - and a sixth appearance in a row is the best the 21-year-old can expect.

England - Spain: What to expect? 

England will have to defend their unbeaten record against Spain on Saturday as the Young Lions have been unbeaten in five previous meetings with La Roja. Most recently, they drew 1-1 in the group stage in 2011 and won 3-0 on aggregate in the final in 1984. So England knows how to beat Spain in a final.

Eager to follow in the footsteps of Sexton's champions 39 years ago, England could no doubt break through Spain's defence more than once, but their impeccable defensive record could finally be broken against their opponents' fearsome attackers. Although both sides are feeling the effects of a long and gruelling season, Saturday's final should live up to the claim and one of football's rarest collectibles - England's penalty shootout victory - could help the Young Lions to another long-awaited continental title. So we're betting on a draw after 90 minutes. Because of England's strong defensive performance, we also guess under 2.5 goals.

• Under 2.5
• Draw (risk)

* All odds and markets are correct at the time of publication and subject to change.