Germany vs France U21 EURO semi-final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups

Germany face France in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final at the Košice Football Arena in Slovakia on Wednesday 25 June.

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local U21 EURO broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

This match has all the makings of an open, entertaining last-four tussle as it throws together the two top-scoring teams in the tournament heading into the semi-finals – Germany have 12 goals, France ten.

Having qualified for the finals unbeaten, Germany then breezed through the group stage as the only side with a perfect record thanks to victories over Slovenia, Czechia and England. They were then involved in a last-eight thriller against Italy in which they trailed, then led 2-1 before their opponents were reduced to nine men. Somehow Italy forced extra time, where Merlin Röhl's 117th-minute strike eventually took Antonio Di Salvo's side through.

France's group stage campaign was ignited by a stunning late comeback to beat Georgia on Matchday 2, where they scored in the 89th and 102nd minute to win 3-2, before a resounding success over Poland sealed their quarter-finals berth. Les Bleuets had to show their resolve again in the last eight, striking twice in the final six minutes to see off Denmark – Gerald Baticle's men never know when they are beaten.

These nations are no strangers to the business end of this competition either. Three-time winners Germany have reached the semi-finals for the seventh time – the last occasion was in 2021 – as have France, though it will be their first last-four appearance since 2019.

Possible line-ups

Germany: Atubolu; Collins, Rosenfelder, Arrey-Mbi, Brown; Reitz, Martel, Nebel; Gruda, Tresoldi, Woltemade

France: Restes; Doukoure, Matsima, Lukeba, Merlin; Cisse, Agoume, Lepenant; Lemarechal, Tel, Odobert

Road to the semi-finals

Germany

Qualifying Group D winners: P10 W8 D2 L0 F35 A10
Group stage results (1st in Group B): 3-0 vs Slovenia, 4-2 vs Czechia, 2-1 vs England
Quarter-finals: 3-2aet vs Italy

France

Qualifying Group H runners-up, best three runners-up: P8 W5 D1 L2 F22 A6
Group stage results (2nd in Group C): 0-0 vs Portugal, 3-2 vs Georgia, 4-1 vs Poland
Quarter-finals: 3-2 vs Denmark

View from the camps

Antonio Di Salvo, Germany coach: "France are a good team. They came back and won [in the quarter-finals] and they did the same against Georgia. We played them in November and they are a top nation that has incredibly good players. Even though some players are missing, they are really good. But we're also good and looking forward to the game."

Nick Woltemade, Germany striker: "It will be a tough game, for sure. But there's the rhythm of the tournament and we will do it. I know we will be ready – they have a good team, we have a good team, and the best players in this age group play against each other. It will be amazing."

Rocco Reitz, Germany midfielder: "In terms of individual quality up front, it'll be a bit tougher because France really have some proper calibre there. And at the back as well, they are definitely very strong players in the tackle. Whether it'll be as tactically complicated as against Italy, I would doubt that. But we have to be much more careful at the back against France, to really compete well in the block, do our work against the ball very well. With the ball we need to find spaces better behind the opponent's No6s, play deep balls to break lines and also make the game a bit faster."

Gerald Baticle, France coach: "We trained and made sure the players who had less time to play stay in shape. We continued to work collectively to be able to put the ingredients together for a good match. We were also looking at videos to see what worked well, what didn't work well. We always put energy into trying to improve our game. Germany are a very strong team, a force in world and European football. They have a lot of strengths, and a lot of individuality, so we will be facing a formidable opponent. But we also have strengths in our game, and we want to show what we can do."

Castello Lukeba, France defender: "Germany are a very strong team in attack, but we also have strong players in our team. And we shouldn't focus on them, but on ourselves. If we do what we have to do, and put in what the coach wants us to, there's no reason for it to go wrong. We're competitors. As long as the referee hasn't blown, we have a chance to come back. We showed that in the match against Georgia, and again against Italy. It's best not to get used to it, to finish matches off as soon as possible, but it shows a very strong character in the team."