Spain and Italy qualify for quarter-final after dour draw

Pablo Marin of Spain and Issa Doumbia of Italy battle for the ball

Spain and Italy played out a 1-1 draw in their final group game of the UEFA European U21 Championship, ensuring both nations completed it without defeat (W2, D1).

With passage to the quarter-finals already sealed for both nations, this matchup was purely a fight for top spot, and it was the Spaniards who edged proceedings in the early moments.

Raul Moro had the first sighter on goal just before the quarter hour mark when he tried his luck from the edge of the box, but his effort was blocked. It took until the midway point of the first half for Italy to venture forward, as Jacopo Fazzini unleashed a powerful effort from outside of the box, which Pablo Cunat strongly palmed away.0

From that moment onwards, Italy dominated the contest and created multiple chances, but their lack of clinical finishing was hurting them.

Daniele Ghilardi first headed over the bar from a promising position in the box, before Michael Kayode saw a strong shot saved by CuF1at, ensuring the sides went into the half-time break goalless.

Match stats

Following the restart, Spain once again started strongly, and this time made their dominance count when Moro’s cutback to the middle of the box was swept home by JesFAs RodrDguez in the 53rd minute.

Undeterred after conceding their first goal of the tournament, Italy quickly hit back and levelled the scoreline within six minutes.

Niccolo Pisilli controlled a long ball up the pitch, and despite being out on the right wing, the AS Roma youngster showed incredible power and pace to break into the box and bury his finish into the far corner.0

Rafa Marin had a great opportunity to restore Spain’s lead on 71 minutes, yet the U21 captain could not steer his header on target after being picked out from a corner kick.0

Spain were piling on the pressure to cap off their group stage with three victories, but Roberto Fernandez’s powerful strike from distance was brilliantly saved by Gioele Zacchi.0

Riccardo Turicchia also saw his shot saved late on, with neither nation finding a second goal. With both sides finishing level on points and goal difference, Spain top Group A based on goals scored – six to Italy’s three.0

Check out all the match stats from the game with Flashscore.

A man-of-the-match performance from Tomas Suslov inspired Slovakia to a 2-1 win over Romania in their final match at the 2025 UEFA U21 European Championships. The win marks the hosts’ first victory in eight matches (D2, L5).

Read the full report with Flashscore.