Portugal face Germany at the Andruv Stadium on Saturday evening in the first semi-final of the European Under-21 Championship.
The Esperancas advanced as Group A winners despite rarely flashing the trademark brilliance of their pre-tournament form, scoring only two goals, as Portugal defeated England and drew with Italy and Sweden with coach Rui Jorge looking to lead his nation to their first EURO U21 championship. The Germans will be wary of their opponents despite Jorge’s squad’s lack of sharpness in attack with Portugal rattling off 10 straight qualification victories and outscoring opponents by an impressive 29-10 margin, posting five clean sheets on the road to the tournament final in the Czech Republic.
Germany will be buoyed by a similarly impressive run through qualifying with coach Horst Hrubesch guiding Die Mannshaft to an undefeated record through 10 qualifying matches, rattling off eight consecutive victories en route to a +25 goal difference. Germany has stepped up its reputation for precision after falling behind twice to the Faroe Islands in a qualifying match before eventually pulling out a 3-2 victory.
The 2009 EURO U21 winners shared Portugal’s record advancing as Group B runners-up but their group play included a comprehensive 3-0 win over Denmark, ending Olsen-Banden’s 10 match unbeaten run.
The latest edition of the EURO U21 championship marks Portugal’s first entry in the last four versions of the premier European youth competition and the Esperancas will be eager to progress to only their second final in Portugal’s rich history, carrying forward essentially the same group of players who advanced to the 2014 U19 EURO championship match but lost 1-0 to Germany.
Despite a paucity of goals at this final hurdle, Portugal boast a quality attacking side with the powerful Ivan Cavaleiro, who helped Deportivo avoid relegation sharing a team-high number of assists, bagging three goals and making 27 league appearances for the Brancoazuis and grabbing three goals during Portugal’s qualifying matches. Meanwhile, Porto striker Ricardo paced the young Portuguese group with five goals, featuring in all 10 of the squad’s qualifying matches.
Germany are paced by captain Kevin Volland who captains the young German side and has already scored a brace against Denmark. The young Hoffenheim winger has a penchant for scoring goals, having tallied six goals in an equal number of qualifying matches and led his Bundesliga side with eight goals during his 30 league starts.
Both sides will have the benefit of full available squads avoiding injuries and suspensions in their group matches ahead of Saturday’s decisive tilt in Olomouc.
Form guide: Portugal (D-D-W-W-W-W), Germany (D-W-D-W-W-W)
Expected Starting XIs:
Portugal: Sa; Esgaio, Oliveira, Ilori, Guerreiro; Mario, Carvalho, Oliveira; Silva; Ricardo, Cavaleiro
Germany: ter Stegen; Korb, Ginter, Heintz, Schulz; Bittencourt, Can, Kimmich, Younes; Meyer; Volland
