Ukraine U21 take on Croatia U21 in the round 1 match of UEFA Euro U21. The match will be played on Wednesday, June 21st at Superbet Arena - Giulesti (Bucharest).
The Ukrainian national team will play in Group B in the final tournament of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where their opponents will be Spain, Romania, and Croatia. The Spanish team is the clear favorite of this group, but the battle for the second spot promises to be quite interesting. The "Yellow-Blue" team qualified for the current Euro with some difficulties, as they finished second in their qualifying group, behind the French team. Therefore, they had to secure their spot in the European Championship through playoff matches against Slovakia. In the first playoff match, the Ukrainians lost 2-3, but they won the second leg with a convincing 3-0 victory, ultimately securing their long-awaited qualification. As part of their preparation for the European tournament, the Ukrainian youth team had friendly matches against Kuwait and Ireland. They won against Kuwait with a score of 2-0, but drew against Ireland with a 2-2 result.
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Croatia also had to go through playoff matches to qualify for the Euro 2023 finals because they finished second in their qualifying group, trailing behind the Norwegian national team. In the playoff stage, Croatia faced Denmark, and after two matches, the aggregate score was 3-3. The winner of this tie was determined in a penalty shootout, where Croatia emerged as the slightly more accurate and fortunate team, winning 5-4. This year, the Croatian youth team played two friendly matches in March. First, they played a goalless draw against Israel (0-0), and then defeated their peers from England with a score of 2-1.
The Croatian youth team has always been known for its talents, and this particular squad is no exception. For example, winger Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb is worth mentioning. However, the Ukrainian team also has its own "star," namely Mikhail Mudryk, who currently plays for Chelsea. However, Mudryk's first season with the "Blues" did not go as planned, and the midfielder himself is not in the best condition. Overall, these two teams are relatively evenly matched. Nevertheless, in my subjective opinion, Croatia has slightly higher chances of winning. Firstly, their recent performance and results have been more stable compared to the Ukrainians. Secondly, Igor Bishchan's team appears significantly stronger in defense than their opponents. Thirdly, one should not overlook the individual quality of the players representing both teams. After all, the majority of Ukrainian players compete in their domestic league, the level of which has significantly decreased for objective reasons, while the Croatian national team boasts a slightly higher class, at least within this age group. My prediction: Croatia with a handicap (0).
Prediction for the match: Croatia U21 to win with 0.0 handicap.
