Under-21 quarter-finals: Spain vs England facts

There is a repeat of the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final in the 2025 quarter-finals as Spain take on an England side they have never beaten in a competitive fixture at the Anton Malatinský Stadium in Trnava.

The Young Lions claimed their third U21 title – a first in 39 years – with a 1-0 defeat of Spain two years ago, but come into this tie without a win in their last two fixtures, drawing 0-0 with Slovenia before a 1-2 defeat by Germany left them second in Group B despite a 3-1 opening win against Czechia.

Spain, meanwhile, won Group A having finished level on seven points with an Italy side against whom they drew 1-1 on Matchday 3; they had previously beaten hosts Slovakia (3-2) and Romania (2-1).

The winners of this tie will play Portugal or Netherlands in the semi-finals in Bratislava on 25 June.

Previous European U21 Championship meetings

Matches 6
England wins 4
Spain wins 0
Draws 2
England goals 9
Spain goals 3

Cole Palmer's free-kick deflected in off Curtis Jones to give England a final victory at the Batumi Arena on 8 July 2023, although it took James Trafford's 90th-minute penalty save from Abel Ruiz to preserve that 1-0 scoreline.

That was only the sides' fifth competitive U21 fixture, and a first since Matchday 1 of the 2011 finals when Danny Welbeck's 88th-minute equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw for Stuart Pearce's England after Ander Herrera's 14th-minute opener for Spain.

Pearce's team had come out on top at the 2009 tournament, second-half goals from Fraizer Campbell and James Milner earning a 2-0 Matchday 2 win against a Spain side coached by Juan Ramón López Caro.

England claimed their second U21 title with a 3-0 aggregate win against Spain in the 1984 final. Mel Sterland scored the only goal of the first leg at Seville's Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, and Dave Sexton's side completed an aggregate triumph against a Spain team coached by Luis Suárez thanks to second-half goals from Mark Hateley and Howard Gayle at Bramall Lane in Sheffield.

The teams played out a 0-0 friendly draw in Spain on 15 November 2024.

That was only the teams' sixth friendly fixture with each side winning two. Spain's last success against England was a 1-0 home win in Alcalá de Henares in November 2004 in which Cesc Fàbregas scored the only goal.

Santi Denia was in charge of the Spain side that beat England 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship final.

Form guide

Spain

This is Spain's fifth consecutive appearance in the knockout stages.

Spain's record in U21 quarter-finals is W7 L3. They were beaten in three of the first five but have won the last five, the last two 2-1 after extra time, against Croatia in 2021 and Switzerland two years ago. They have not lost a last-eight tie since being eliminated by Italy in 1990 (1-3 a, 1-0 h).

The joint most successful side in European U21 Championship history with five titles, level with Italy, Spain are in the final tournament for the 12th time overall and the eighth in nine editions, failing to qualify only in 2015 during that sequence.

La Rojita have been champions in three of the last seven tournaments – 2011, 2013 and 2019 – and have reached the semi-finals or better in each of the last four. They have not failed to progress from their group since 2009.

Two years ago, a side coached by Santi Denia – who had succeeded Luis de la Fuente in December 2022 – finished top of Group B before beating Switzerland (2-1 aet) and Ukraine (5-1) only to lose to England in the final.

This time round Denia's side won nine of their ten qualifiers (D1), scoring 28 goals and conceding only five, to finish nine points above runners-up Belgium at the top of Group B.

England 

England are in the knockout stages for the fifth time since an eight-team final tournament was introduced in 1998. Before 2023 they had won only one of their four previous knockout ties in those finals, beating hosts Sweden 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the 2009 semi-finals. Two of those defeats also came on penalties – against the Netherlands in 2007 (12-13) and Germany in 2017 (3-4) – in addition to a 4-0 loss to Germany in the 2009 final.

A team coached by Lee Carsley claimed England's first U21 title in 39 years in 2023, finishing first in Group C on a maximum nine points before beating Portugal (1-0), Israel (3-0) and Spain.

England have won all seven of their previous European U21 Championship quarter-finals, the first six over two legs, and are unbeaten in the 13 matches (W9 D4).

This is England's tenth successive final tournament campaign – the longest ongoing sequence in the competition – and a 12th overall; they last missed out in 2006.

Carsley's side qualified for these finals as Group F winners (W8 D1 L1), their 41 goals more than any other side. A 3-2 loss against runners-up Ukraine was their first away qualifying defeat in 12 years.

Harvey Elliott – another member of the victorious 2023 squad – was England's top scorer in qualifying on seven goals.

The Matchday 2 draw against Slovenia ended England's run of eight successive final tournament victories.

Defeat against Germany last time out was England's first in ten finals matches (W8 D1).

Champions in 1982 and 1984, England also reached four further semi-finals in the first six editions of the European U21 Championship.

Links and trivia

Have played in England:
Hugo Bueno (Wolves 2022–24)
Mateo Joseph (Leeds 2022–)
Andrés García (Aston Villa 2025–)

Have played together:
Mateo Joseph & Archie Gray (Leeds 2022–24)

Joseph won ten caps for England's Under-20 team, where his team-mates included Gray, James Beadle, Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Tommy Simkin, Jarell Quansah, Ronnie Edwards, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Alex Scott and Samuel Iling-Junior.

Mikel Jauregizar scored against Manchester United in Athletic Club's 4-1 defeat in the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg on 8 May.