2023 Under-21 EURO: Meet the finalists – England vs Spain

England take on Spain in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final at Batumi Arena, Georgia, kicking off at 18:00 CET (20:00 local time).

We introduce the contenders as Spain look for a record sixth title and England hope to end a 39-year wait for their third.

England

Qualifying Group G winners: P10 W8 D1 L1 F26 A7
Finals Group C winners: W2-0 vs Czechia (Batumi), W2-0 vs Israel (Kutaisi), W2-0 vs Germany (Batumi)
Quarter-final: W1-0 vs Portugal (Kutaisi)
Semi-final: W3-0 vs Israel (Batumi)
Finals scorers: Cameron Archer 2, Anthony Gordon 2, Emile Smith Rowe 2, Harvey Elliott 1, Morgan Gibbs-White 1, Cole Palmer 1, Jacob Ramsey 1
U21 EURO best: Winners x 2 (1982, 1984)
U21 EURO final record: W2 L1

2009: L0-4 vs Germany
1984: W3-0agg vs Spain (W1-0a, W2-0h)
1982: W5-4agg vs West Germany (W3-1h, L2-3a)

Did you know?

• England have won every game and not conceded a single goal en route to the final – just like Spain at the 2013 tournament in Israel. La Rojita went on to beat Italy 4-2 in the decider.
• A record-equalling seven different players have scored for England in these U21 finals – a mark they also matched when they last reached the final in 2009.
• Both of England's previous titles came when this competition was officially known as 'European Championship for National Representative Teams of Talents Under-21' and squads were able to include a limited number of overage players (hence, in 1984, England featured Howard Gayle, 26, and Gary Bailey, 25).

Spain

Qualifying Group C winners: P8 W8 D0 L0 F37 A5
Finals Group B winners: W3-0 vs Romania (Bucharest), W1-0 vs Croatia (Bucharest), D2-2 vs Ukraine (Bucharest)
Quarter-final: W2-1aet vs Switzerland (Bucharest)
Semi-final: W5-1 vs Ukraine (Bucharest)
Finals scorers: Sergio Gómez 3, Abel Ruiz 3, Juan Miranda 2, Álex Baena 1, Antonio Blanco 1, Aimar Oroz 1, Oihan Sancet 1, own goal 1
U21 EURO best: Winners x 5 (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019)
U21 EURO final record: W5 L3

2019: W2-1 vs Germany
2017: L0-1 vs Germany
2013: W4-2 vs Italy
2011: W2-0 vs Switzerland
1998: W1-0 vs Greece
1996: L1-1aet, 2-4pens vs Italy
1986: W3-3agg, 3-0pens vs Italy (L1-2a, W2-1a)
1984: L0-3agg vs Yugoslavia (L0-1h, L0-2a)

Did you know?

• Spain have extended their record tally of final appearances to nine.
• They hope to claim a new outright mark of six titles, one ahead of Italy.
• Antonio Blanco, Sergio Gómez, Juan Miranda and Abel Ruiz, along with coach Santi Denia, are looking to complete a treble after winning the U17 EURO in 2017 and the U19 EURO in 2019.

Previous finals meetings

2011 group stage: England 1-1 Spain
2009 group stage: England 2-0 Spain
1984 final: England 3-0agg Spain (Spain 0-1 England, England 2-0 Spain)