Spain U21 will face Italy U21 at the Stadion Antona Malatinskeho on Tuesday in the final group-stage game of their 2025 U21 European Championship campaign. La Rojita have picked up important results in their continental showpiece so far and sit atop Group A with six points from an obtainable six, needing only a point on Tuesday to finish as group winners.
They picked up a 2-1 comeback victory over Romania U21 in their last match, falling behind after just four minutes before Leeds United man Mateo Joseph squandered the chance to level the scores from the spot. Mikel Jauregizar and Roberto Fernandez, however, came off the bench in the second half, netting a quickfire double in the final five minutes of normal time to secure a quarterfinal spot for the Spaniards.
Italy U21 have also picked up two wins from two in the Euros this year and have advanced to the knockout stages. They picked up a narrow 1-0 win over hosts Slovakia in their last match, with Torino man Cesare Casadei netting the sole goal of the game just seven minutes in.
The Azzurrini are level on points with their midweek opponents in the table but must win on Tuesday if they are to finish atop the group.
La Rojita have won their last two matches after winning just one of their previous five. They have had the upper hand in this fixture in recent years, winning five of their last seven and will be hopeful of a positive result here as well.
Similarly, the Azzurrini are on a run of back-to-back victories after going winless in their previous five. They, however, have a significantly weaker offensive output than their opponents in the competition so far and could lose this one.
Prediction: Spain U21 2-1 Italy U21
Tip 1 - Result: Spain U21 to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Five of Spain's last six matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in five of Italy's last seven matches)