England vs Spain U21 EURO final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups

England play Spain in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final at Batumi Arena in Georgia on Saturday.

What do you need to know?

From the off, these teams seemed to be making the running in the tournament and there is no surprise they are meeting in Batumi for the title. England have emulated Spain's own achievement from 2013, when they reached the final by winning every game and not conceding a goal.

Spain won that final 4-2 against Italy but England, who welcome right-backs Max Aarons and Ben Johnson back from suspension but are missing injured midfielder Jacob Ramsey, will hope it is more an omen for them as they seek to claim their first title since their triumphs in 1982 and 1984, in the days of two-legged deciders and allowed overage players.

Since beating Spain 3-0 on aggregate in 1984, England have made only one final, losing 4-0 to Germany in 2009. By contrast, the final 39 years ago was the first of now nine for Spain, an outright record they hope to embellish with a sixth title, which would take them one ahead of Italy. The 2-2 draw with Ukraine that clinched first place in Group B is the nearest to a blemish in an otherwise perfect Spain run, including qualifying, that has yielded 50 goals.

There is certainly no shortage of winning experience in the La Rojita team. 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 (beating England in a dramatic final) and the U19 EURO in 2019.

Ian Holyman, UEFA.com reporter in Batumi

The key question is which team will get to impose their preferred style of play. Both like to have the ball, so one will have to compromise. England look best-suited to do that with real pace and directness in their squad. Anthony Gordon and Morgan Gibbs-White have been outstanding and – with Angel Gomes's passing range and vision – could give the Spain backline significant food for thought on the counter. Abel Ruiz and Sergio Gómez, who boast a tournament-best three goals each, will be a handful for Lee Carsley's side, who have yet to concede at these finals.

Road to the final

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

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

Line-ups

England: Trafford; Aarons, Harwood-Bellis, Colwill, Garner; Gomes, Jones; Palmer, Gibbs-White, Smith Rowe; Gordon

Spain: Tenas; Victor Gómez, Paredes, Pacheco, Miranda; Blanco, Álex Baena; Sancet; Rodri, Abel Ruiz, Sergio Gómez

View from the camps

Morgan Gibbs-White, England midfielder: "We've been working for the past two years just to get to this moment. It's not an achievement yet; we still have loads of work to do. I feel like we have a good, together team and the right team that can go all the way."

Abel Ruiz, Spain forward: "We know England are a very good team. They came to this tournament as favourites and have had a very good tournament. It's nice because our first European final was against England [at U17 level in 2017] and now we're playing them again in a final. Hopefully we can have a repeat of that 2017 final that we managed to win, but to do that we'll have to produce 90 perfect minutes."