Semi-finalists' facts and figures

Switzerland and Spain may have breezed into the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals, but the group stage was far more touch and go for Belarus and Czech Republic, who were both on their way out before they edged through, as their pools concluded in dramatic fashion.

There are also marked contrasts not just between the success enjoyed at this level by two-time winners Spain and first-time semi-finalists Belarus, but the experience squad members have of playing in finals of major tournaments. UEFA.com casts an eye over the semi-finalists.

Belarus
Belarus became the first team since Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, when Germany and Portugal missed out, to progress to the semi-finals with three points, pipping Iceland and Denmark on a three-way head-to-head calculation. Since the current format was introduced in 2002 (a group stage followed by semi-finals), only three other teams have previously reached the knockout phase with a negative goal difference, none with an overall tally of -2: Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 (-1), Portugal in 2004 (-1), Czech Republic in 2002 (-1).

Previous semi-finals
None

Players who have been involved in international finals†
None

Czech Republic
Jakub Dovalil's side were a minute away from elimination when substitute Jan Chramosta, who had been on the pitch for six minutes, equalised against England before another replacement, Tomáš Pekhart, completed the comeback in added time. Their tally of six points is the Czechs' best group stage performance since 2000, when they won their pool to advance straight to the final. They last reached the semi-finals in 2002, the year they went on to be crowned European champions.

Previous semi-finals
2002: 3-2 v Italy (Zurich, Switzerland)

Players who have been involved in international finals
Runners-up
Under-17s, 2006 (Luxembourg): Marek Štěch, Radim Řezník, Ondřej Mazuch, Lukáš Vácha, Tomáš Pekhart
NB: Dovalil was the coach of this side.

Spain
Luis Milla's Spain have been tipped by the coaches of England and Ukraine, who both faced the Iberians in Group B, to go all the way in Denmark. Like the seniors, this Spain team are masters of ball possession – enjoying 59% against England, 66% versus the Czech Republic and 64% in Sunday's concluding 3-0 defeat of Ukraine. In Adrián, Spain boast the tournament's three-goal leading scorer.

Previous semi-finals
1998: 1-0 v Norway aet (Bucharest, Romania)
1996: 2-1 v Scotland (Barcelona, Spain)
1994: 0-2 v Portugal (Nimes, France)
1986: 5-4 agg v Hungary (1-3 away, 4-1 home)
1984: 3-0 agg v Yugoslavia (1-0 away, 2-0 home)

Players who have been involved in international finals
Winners
FIFA World Cup, 2010 (South Africa): Javi Martínez*, Juan Mata*
Under-19s, 2007 (Austria): Daniel Parejo, César Azpilicueta, Mikel San José, Emilio Nsue, Javi Martínez*
Under-19s, 2006 (Poland): Juan Mata, Diego Capel, Jeffrén
Under-17s, 2008 (Turkey): Thiago Alcántara, Martín Montoya
Under-17s, 2007 (Belgium): Bojan Krkić, David de Gea

Runners-up
FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2007: Bojan Krkić, David de Gea, Diego Mariño*
Under-19s, 2010 (France): Martín Montoya, Thiago Alcántara, Iker Muniain
NB: Milla was the coach of this last side.

Switzerland
Switzerland will go into the semi-finals full of confidence after improving their result in each of their three Group A games: 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0. The last time they tallied nine points in a group was in 2002, when they won the U17s in Denmark – a lucky omen, perhaps? They are only the second team to reach the last four having not conceded a goal, following the lead set by France at the 2006 finals in Portugal (Les Bleuets recorded the same results albeit in a different order).

Previous semi-finals
2002: 0-2 v France (Basel, Switzerland)

Players who have been involved in international finals
Winners
FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2009 (Nigeria): Benjamin Siegrist, Nassim Ben Khalifa, Pajtim Kasami, Granit Xhaka

† UEFA European Championship unless stated
* did not play in final