Spain and Ukraine through after four-goal draw as co-hosts Romania bow out
Croatia U21 0 Romania U21 0
Croatia and Romania exited the Under-21 UEFA European Championships with a goalless draw at the Steaua Stadium in Bucharest.
This is the Young Blazers' second elimination at the group stage of a U21 Euros in the last three competitions, while this year’s co-hosts exit the tournament at the same juncture for a second successive time.
Considered slight favourites In this battle of teams already eliminated from the tournament, Croatia had the first sight of goal in a scrappy opening quarter-hour, with Dion Drena Beljo firing straight into the gloves of Stefan Tarnovanu.
As for co-hosts Romania, they were forced to be patient to trouble Euro U21 debutant Ivor Pandur, and a goalless first half came as little surprise given that only pride was at stake.
That said, the game had shown some signs of livening up in the 37th minute, as Tarnovanu produced a sensational double-save to deny Martin Baturina and Beljo in quick succession.
And with Romania failing to regroup, it looked as though the deadlock would finally be broken shortly after, but Gabriel Vidovic could only turn away in dismay after firing the final instalment in a hat-trick of quick-fire efforts against the crossbar.
Despite looking like the more likely to net the game’s opening goal within the opening 45 minutes, Dragan Skocic made the decision to introduce two new faces for the second half, with Niko Galesic and Jurica Prsir entering the fray as the Young Blazers continued seeking a first goal of this forgettable tournament.
However, neither of the Croatian U21 manager’s alterations could make an impact, and the game passed the hour-mark with no significant opportunities in front of goal materialising for either nation.
Despite peppering the Romanian goal whilst time continued to run out in the background, Croatia were ultimately left frustrated at the sound of the final whistle, as the Young Blazers now take a three-month break before returning in mid-September for a 2025 U21 European Championship qualifier against the Faroe Islands.
Meanwhile, Romania conclude the tournament as Group B’s wooden spoon recipients.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Stefan Tarnovanu (Romania)
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Spain U21 2 Ukraine U21 2
Spain fought back on two occasions to salvage a point in their final group game against Ukraine at the Under-21 European Championship, ensuring Santiago Denia’s side progress as the group winners.
With qualification to the knockout rounds already secured, the two managers took the opportunity to make wholesale changes to their respective sides.
Oleh Ocheretko was one of the 19 changes made between the two nations, and the Ukraine midfielder nearly gifted Spain an early opener when his reckless pass across the face of goal found Sergio Camello. Fortunately for Ukraine, Ruslan Neshcheret came to his teammate’s aid, standing firm to thwart the Atletico Madrid youngster.
While Ukraine carried their own attacking threat, a nervy backline continued to present Spain with opportunities. Neshcheret was given a reprieve after bowling the ball against his own leg and into the path of Rodrigo Riquelme, whose subsequent strike was disallowed for a foul against the goalkeeper.
It was then the turn of Camello to squander a gilt-edged opportunity for the second time in the opening half-hour.
With only the onrushing Nescheret to beat, the 22-year-old guided his strike straight at the Dynamo Kyiv stopper after latching onto Volodymyr Salyuk's under-hit backpass.
Camello was made to rue his wasteful efforts when Bohdan Viunnyk emphatically headed home from Oleksandr Nazarenko’s inviting delivery to give his country a slender half-time lead.
After conceding for the first time in the tournament, Spain offered an immediate response in the opening stages of the second half as Ukraine lost their own perfect defensive record in bizarre circumstances, with Oleksandr Syrota’s attempted clearance from Riquelme’s low cross smashing into Ivan Zhelizko before bouncing into the Ukrainian net.
As the contest drifted into the final 10 minutes, substitute goalkeeper Leo Roman clumsily brought down Danylo Sikan in the box, presenting Georgiy Sudakov with the chance to score from the spot.
The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder kept his composure to send Roman the wrong way and restore his country’s advantage.
However, Ukraine were once again unable to hold onto a narrow advantage, as Abel Ruiz demonstrated his quality to rescue a point with a neat left-foot finish in the 90th minute.
The late leveller extends Spain’s impressive unbeaten run to 16 matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bohdan Viunnyk (Ukraine)