Saturday: Portugal v Serbia, Spain v FYR Macedonia
Friday, June 16, 2017
Article summary
Day Two of the U21 EURO on Saturday brings a first taste of action for the teams in Group B as Portugal take on Serbia and Spain meet tournament newcomers FYR Macedonia.
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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 B 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), Facebook (@under21) and Instagram (UEFA.com).
Follow here: Portugal v Serbia (kick-off 18:00CET)
Follow here: Spain v FYR Macedonia (kick-off: 20:45CET)
PORTUGAL V SERBIA
When and where?
The first game in Group B kicks off at 18:00CET on Saturday and takes place at the Bydgoszcz Stadium in northern Poland, which was previously home to Zawisza Bydgoszcz, the 2014 Polish Cup winners.
Knowledge to impress your friends
Edgar Ié and Ricardo Horta scored in Portugal's semi-final shoot-out defeat by a Serbia side including Aleksandar Filipović, Miloš Veljković and Nemanja Maksimović at the UEFA European U19 Championship in 2013.
Who said what?
Rui Jorge, Portugal coach: "We had some problems with injuries at first but everybody is OK now, including Renato Sanches. This will be an interesting match and I don't think it will end goalless as both teams have a lot of quality and like to attack. With only the first place qualifying for the semis, the competition is harder for sure."
Nenad Lalatović, Serbia coach: "The first game is always difficult but we'll give everything to win. In Andrija Živković we have one of the most talented players in Europe – he plays for Benfica and he will show his talent here. Portugal have very good individual players and we know they're very dangerous in attack with good wide men. If a team haven't lost for more than five years [six years, eight months in a competitive fixture] we can't talk about their weaknesses in defence either."
How did the teams qualify?
Portugal: Group 4 winners (P10 W8 D2 L0 F34 A5)
Serbia: Group 2 runners-up (P10 W7 D2 L1 F27 A8); play-off win v Norway
How can I watch the game?
In Portugal: Sport TV
In Serbia: Arena Sport
The full list of broadcast partners is available here. Games will also be streamed live on UEFA.com and UEFA.tv in some territories.
SPAIN V FYR MACEDONIA
When and where?
The day's second Group B fixture takes place at Gdynia Stadium, home of this year's Polish Cup winners Arka Gdynia – a club based up on the Baltic coast of Poland.
Knowledge to impress your friends
While this is Spain's 13th U21 final tournament, FYR Macedonia are making history as the first team from their country to appear in the final stage of a major international football competition.
Who said what?
Albert Celades, Spain coach: "When you see a team like Macedonia in the final tournament it might surprise you but we're professional in what we do and we've analysed their qualifying campaign and can see why they're here – they've got a magnificent team and magnificent players, they came through a very tough qualifying ground and this match will demand the very best of us."
Blagoja Milevski, FYR Macedonia coach: "We've prepared well and are looking forward to this. I'm sure everyone will do their job. We have to present Macedonia in the best possible light just as we did in the qualifiers. We were in the fifth pot when we started the qualifying campaign but became the first team to qualify directly with such a low ranking. We beat France, Ukraine and Iceland so we're positive."
How did the teams qualify?
Spain: Group 6 runners-up (P10 W7 D2 L1 F31 A9); play-off win v Austria
FYR Macedonia: Group 3 winners (P10 W6 D3 L1 F13 A7)
How can I watch the game?
In Spain: Mediaset
In FYR Macedonia: TV Nova and Arena Sport
The full list of broadcast partners is available here. Games will also be streamed live on UEFA.com and UEFA.tv in some territories.