Portugal struck late on to beat defending champions Spain and set up a European Under-21 Championship final against Germany on Sunday.
Portugal’s winning goal with 10 minutes left was a fortuitous one as Fabio Vieira’s low cross deflected off Jorge Cuenca and looped into the net.
Germany edged past the Netherlands 2-1.
Florian Wirtz netted twice for Germany in the first eight minutes and, although Perr Schuurs pulled a goal back, the two-time winners held on.
The Portuguese, who had Wolves’ Vitinha and Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot in their starting line-up, are aiming to win the competition for the first time having been beaten finalists in 1994 and 2015.
Spain, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to lift the trophy for a record sixth time, staying level with Italy on five victories.
Line-ups
Spain U21
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Fernández
- 22Gil
- 2Mingueza
- 5Cuenca
- 11Cucurella
- 6Zubimendi
- 10VillarSubstituted forRuizat 82′minutes
- 7DíazBooked at 57minsSubstituted forPinoat 66′minutes
- 14García AlonsoSubstituted forSancetat 76′minutes
- 17GilSubstituted forMirandaat 45′minutes
- 18Puado
Substitutes
- 3Pedrosa
- 8Beltrán
- 9Ruiz
- 12Miranda
- 13Martínez
- 15Francés
- 16Blanco
- 19Niño
- 20Pino
- 21Sancet
- 23Peña
Portugal U21
Formation 4-1-2-1-2
- 1Meireles Costa
- 5Dalot
- 4Queirós
- 3Monteiro Pinto Leite
- 2Cadri Conté
- 10Santos BragançaSubstituted forSilva Baróat 65′minutes
- 7Vitinha
- 8Carvalho FernandesSubstituted forMorris Luísat 51′minutes
- 23VieiraSubstituted forLopes Pereiraat 90′minutes
- 9da Conceição LeãoBooked at 31minsSubstituted forde Melo Tomásat 65′minutes
- 11Mota CarvalhoSubstituted forNeves Filipeat 65′minutes
Substitutes
- 6Morris Luís
- 12Arantes Maximiano
- 13Franco Tavares
- 14Lopes Pereira
- 15Embaló Djaló
- 16Silva Baró
- 17Barros Soares
- 18Matias Ramos
- 19de Melo Tomás
- 20Neves Filipe
- 21Conceição
- 22Neves Virgínia
Live Text
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Match ends, Spain U21 0, Portugal U21 1.
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Second Half ends, Spain U21 0, Portugal U21 1.
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Foul by Martín Zubimendi (Spain U21).
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Diogo Leite (Portugal U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt missed. Marc Cucurella (Spain U21) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner.
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Corner, Spain U21. Conceded by Abdu Conté.
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Corner, Spain U21. Conceded by Jota.
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Substitution, Portugal U21. Pedro Pereira replaces Fábio Vieira.
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Corner, Spain U21. Conceded by Diogo Leite.
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Attempt blocked. Fábio Vieira (Portugal U21) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Martín Zubimendi (Spain U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tiago Tomás (Portugal U21).
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Attempt saved. Oihan Sancet (Spain U21) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Martín Zubimendi.
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Attempt missed. Martín Zubimendi (Spain U21) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Marc Cucurella with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Spain U21. Conceded by Diogo Dalot.
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Jorge Cuenca (Spain U21) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tiago Tomás (Portugal U21).
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Substitution, Spain U21. Abel Ruiz replaces Gonzalo Villar.
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Own Goal by Jorge Cuenca, Spain U21. Spain U21 0, Portugal U21 1.
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Offside, Spain U21. Juan Miranda tries a through ball, but Marc Cucurella is caught offside.
