Saturday: Italy v Germany, Czech Republic v Denmark
Friday, June 23, 2017
Article summary
Italy coach Luigi Di Biago has seen"desire in the eyes of my players", while Germany are playing the role of the underdog and the Czech Republic have belief in the race to top Group C.
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How can I follow the games on UEFA.com?
UEFA.com will have reporters on the ground at both of Saturday's Group C fixtures, with live analysis, photos, minute-by-minute commentary and reaction in the build-up, during the game and after full time. There will also be extensive coverage on Twitter (@UEFAUnder21) and Facebook (@under21).
Follow here: Italy v Germany (kick-off: 20:45CET)
Follow here: Czech Republic v Denmark (kick-off: 20:45CET)
ITALY V GERMANY
When and where?
Two heavyweight names of European football meet in Krakow where Germany are best placed to progress.
How do the teams stand in Group C?
Germany lead the group with six points and are guaranteed top spot if they draw with Italy; if they lose, they will be assured of second place only if the Czech Republic do not beat Denmark. Italy have three points and will be assured of first place if they beat Germany and the Czechs do not win.
Knowledge to impress your friends
Italy and Germany have featured in the U21 final on 11 occasions between them – Italy winning five titles to their opponents' one – but they have met just once before in the competition: the 2009 semi-final won 1-0 by Germany.
Matchday one
Denmark 0-2 Italy (Pellegrini 54, Petagna 86)
Italy: Donnarumma; Conti, Rugani, Caldara, Barreca; Pellegrini, Gagliardini, Benassi (Grassi 73); Berardi (Chiesa 67), Petagna (Cerri 88), Bernadeschi).
Germany 2-0 Czech Republic (Meyer 44, Gnabry 50)
Germany: Pollersbeck; Toljan, Stark, Kempf, Gerhardt; Dahoud (Jung 66), Arnold (Haberer 86); Weiser (Philipp 76), Meyer, Gnabry; Selke.
Matchday two
Czech Republic 3-1 Italy (Trávník 24, Havlík 79, Lüftner 85; Berardi 70)
Italy: Donnarumma; Conti, Ferrari, Rugani, Calabria; Grassi (Chiesa 54), Cataldi (Cerri 83), Pellegrini; Berardi, Petagna, Bernardeschi (Gagliardini 75)
Germany 3-0 Denmark (Selke 53, Kempf 73, Amiri 79)
Germany: Pollersbeck; Toljan, Stark, Kempf, Gerhardt; Dahoud, Arnold (Amiri 65); Weiser (Jung 66), Meyer, Gnabry (Öztunali 80); Selke
Previous meetings
Played: 1
Italy: W0 D0 L1 F0 A1
Germany: W1 D0 L0 F1 A0
Who said what?
Luigi Di Biagio, Italy coach: "I have seen a desire to bounce back in the eyes of the lads, so the objective is to put in a great performance and try to win the game. We cannot afford to let our minds drift beyond this match to other things like how many goals we have to score. Germany are a great side, but so are we. We have to prove it with more strength, both physical and mental."
Stefan Kuntz, Germany coach: "I can only reference my Italian colleague [Di Biagio]. He said that he has taken the best ever Italian team to a Under-21 EURO, with more than 1000 Serie A appearances between them. That statement is enough in itself; Italy are the favourites."
Form guide (including friendlies, most recent first)
Italy: LWLWD
Germany: WWLWL
How can I watch the game?
In Italy: RAI
In Germany: ARD, ZDF, Sport1
The full list of broadcast partners is available here. Games will also be streamed live on UEFA.com and UEFA.tv in some territories.
CZECH REPUBLIC v DENMARK
When and where?
The Czech Republic complete a hat-trick of group stage games in Tychy while Denmark make the hour-long drive from Krakow for the first time.
How do the teams stand in Group C?
The Czechs have three points; they need to beat Denmark – and for Italy to defeat Germany – to have a chance of topping the section; if they win and Italy don't, the Czechs would secure second place.
Knowledge to impress your friends
The Czechs recorded two victories against Denmark in qualifying for the 2002 finals, which they went on to win, but as hosts, lost the opening match of the 2015 finals to their Scandinavian rivals.
Matchday one
Germany 2-0 Czech Republic (Meyer 44, Gnabry 50)
Czech Republic: Zima; Sáček (Chorý 81), Lüftner, Simič, Havel; Souček; Černý (Hašek 72), Trávník, Ševčík (Barák 56), Jankto; Schick.
Denmark 0-2 Italy (Pellegrini 54, Petagna 86)
Denmark: Højbjerg; Holst, Banggaard, Maxsø, Rasmussen; Hjulsager, Nørgaard, L Christensen, Børsting (Duelund 79); Andersen (Hansen 80), Ingvartsen (Zohore 72).
Matchday two
Czech Republic 3-1 Italy (Trávník 24, Havlík 79, Lüftner 85; Berardi 70)
Czech Republic: Zima; Havel, Lüftner, Simič, Holzer; Trávník, Hubínek (Chorý 77), Souček; Hašek (Havlík 66), Schick (Sáček 83), Jankto.
Germany 3-0 Denmark(Selke 53, Kempf 73, Amiri 79)
Denmark: Højbjerg; Holst, Maxsø, Banggaard, Blåbjerg (Pedersen 62); Hjulsager (Jensen 80), Christensen, Nørgaard, Nielsen (Zohore 56); Duelund, Ingvartsen
Previous meetings
Played: 3
Czech Republic: W2 D0 L1 F8 A5
Denmark: W1 D0 L2 F5 A8
Who said what?
Vítězslav Lavička, Czech Republic coach: "I believe in all my players and not only their attacking game. We're all ready to do everything to fight for qualification. We can't go forward in numbers and offer them chances to counterattack as any goal we concede would complicate things for us."
Niels Frederiksen, Denmark coach: "I'll make some changes compared to the first two matches. We'll play seven or eight players who've been in the starting XI [so far]. Motivation is not hard at all because all the players would like to end this tournament in a good way. We'd really like to make a good last impression."
Form guide (including friendlies, most recent first)
Czech Republic: WLWWL
Denmark: LLWLL
How can I watch the game?
In Czech Republic: Czech TV
In Denmark: Discovery
The full list of broadcast partners is available here. Games will also be streamed live on UEFA.com and UEFA.tv in some territories.