Semi-finals: Turkey v England, Spain v Germany
Monday, May 15, 2017
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Santi Denia will lead Spain out in a UEFA European Under-17 Championship semi-final against Germany for the second successive year, after Turkey aim to stop the England juggernaut.
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Tuesday
Turkey v England – 17:45CET, Zapresic, live Eurosport 1
Turkey (Group A runners-up)
Quarter-final: 1-0 v Hungary
Top scorer in Croatia: Malik Karaahmet 3
U17 EURO best: winners 2005
Mehmet Hacioğlu, coach
I had four favourites before the tournament and one of them was England. They're very good physically and make sound tactical decisions. We won't devise a special plan for them, but we will play differently in that game.
We're very happy to have reached our goal [of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup], but I can't be satisfied with our performance against Hungary. The players, due to their age, couldn't get over the stress of the occasion and we didn't play as we wanted to.
• This is Turkey's best performance at a U17 EURO finals since a squad including Nuri Şahin, Caner Erkin and Volkan Babacan triumphed in 2005. Turkey also reached the semi-finals in 2008 and 2010, when the final tournament consisted of eight sides.
England (Group D winners)
Quarter-final: 1-0 v Republic of Ireland
Top scorer in Croatia: Jadon Sancho 4
U17 EURO best: winners 2010, 2014
Steve Cooper, coach
We know bits about Turkey, but the focus will be very much on ourselves. We're fully aware of anyone we play – we have been all year – and so the approach will be exactly the same. We'll be ready. To win ten straight games [in this season's competition] in the way we have, the players deserve real recognition.
• Cooper has named the same XI for all four matches in Croatia. England have not conceded a goal since the eighth minute of the 3-1 victory over Norway in their group opener.
Spain v Germany – 20:30CET, Varazdin, live on Eurosport 1
Spain (Group A winners)
Quarter-final: 3-1 v France
Top scorer: Abel Ruiz 4
U17 EURO best: winners 2007, 2008
Santi Denia, coach
Germany are probably the most attacking team, not only in this final tournament but also in recent years. They've scored 17 goals [in four matches] and they're strong in all departments. We hope to counter that offensive play, but it's there to see in the numbers.
We'll try to work and defend as a group, but Arp is surrounded by great players – No18 [John Yeboah], No10 [Elias Abouchabaka] and No6 [Noah Awuku]. He's very good.
• Spain captain Abel Ruiz – who equalled the record for most U17 EURO finals goals (8) on Friday along with France's Amine Gouiri – requires one more to become the competition's all-time leading scorer, qualifying included. The Barcelona forward is tied with Portugal's José Gomes on 16.
Germany (Group C winners)
Quarter-final: 2-1 v Netherlands
Top scorer in Croatia: Jann-Fiete Arp 7
U17 EURO best: winners 2009
Christian Wück, coach
Spain have very good individual players. As a team they're fast and strong, so we have to make sure we play well and not just for one half [like against the Netherlands]. We were very lucky because the Netherlands were the better team in the first half.
We have two players [Dominik Becker and Alexander Nitzl] who can take Jan Boller's place at centre-back. It's unfortunate he's suspended for the semi-final.
Suspended: Jan Boller
• Given a bye to the elite round, Germany have won all seven of their fixtures in this season's UEFA European Under-17 Championship.