At 0:00 a.m. Beijing time on July 9, the 2023 UEFA European Cup ushered in the final match, England U21 vs Spain U21. England beat Spain 1-0 to win the European Youth Championship.
This year's UEFA Youth Championship final is a head-to-head showdown, with England Under-21 and Spain Under-21 both favourites to win the title, as the results show. England and Spain are unbeaten in the group stage, advancing to the 1st place in their respective groups, especially England finishing first in the group with a winning record!
Prior to this final, both teams were unbeaten in the final, and what was more frightening was that England won all and advanced to the final without conceding a single goal. In this final, late in the first half, in the 45th minute, Spain's Colway missed a chance to break the deadlock with a header from inside the box that hit the crossbar. In stoppage time, England won a free kick in front, and Cole Palmer took a direct free kick and the ball flew into the net on Curtis Jones, giving England a 1-0 lead over Spain.
In the 51st minute, a Spanish free-kick from front was driven into the box and Arwell Ruiz scored with a header, but the referee signaled that the offside goal was invalidated. The game went into final stoppage time, when the English player was suspected of fouling in the penalty area, and the referee watched the VAR and awarded a penalty, but the penalty taken by Spain captain Arvel Ruiz was saved by England goalkeeper Trafford.
Subsequently, Spain's Antonio Blanco was sent off with two yellows and one red, and England's Gibbs White was also sent off with two yellows and one red, and finally ten England won 1-0 against ten Spain, England won the U21 European Cup with a winning record and 0 goals conceded!
It should be mentioned that this is the second time that the English national youth have won the European Youth Championship in 39 years, their last victory was in 1984, which is also the third time in their history to win the U21 European Youth Championship. However, this time England won the championship with an amazing total victory + clean sheet, which can be said to set a new historical record in the competition.