2019 UEFA U-21 European Championship Final Odds & Picks: Spain vs Germany

• Spain and Germany meet in the UEFA Under-21 European Championship final
• The match is a repeat of the 2017 final, won by Germany
• The talented Spanish enter the match as favorites

On Sunday in Udine, Germany and Spain will contest the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final. It will be a repeat of the 2017 final in Poland.

With the heatwave currently engulfing western Europe, it will be a sticky night in Udine but the players will be grateful for an 8:45 p.m. local time kick-off (2:45 p.m. ET).

Spain vs Germany UEFA Under-21 Championships Final Odds

*Odds taken 06/28/19

The Germans may be reigning champions but it’s Spain’s timing in finding their best form that has seen them installed as -150 favorites ahead of Sunday’s showdown, with the Germans out at +120 for a win within 90 minutes.

German Efficiency

Germany’s route to the final was relatively straightforward with group wins over Denmark and Serbia leaving with enough breathing space to be able to draw their final group game with Austria 1-1 and still comfortably qualify for the semifinal. In truth, it was a cruise for them and they scored 10 goals in the process.

Their semifinal was a rather different story, with a titanic struggle against an impressive Romania only being decided by two goals in stoppage time. Germany’s late win underlined their determination to hold onto the trophy in the face of fierce and talented opposition, but it was a performance minus the swagger that had underpinned their group games. They will need to rediscover it if they are to win on Sunday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCaVcjvjtuk

It was a game that the form book had down as an England/Germany semi but three underwhelming performances from the English left the door open for Romania who took their chance and went within a whisker of getting to the final.

Spain Recover From Bad Start

Spain’s route to the final was rather less comfortable, with their opener against their Italian hosts ending in a disappointing 3-1 defeat in Bologna. But, with the pressure on, they responded well in their second game with a very good 2-1 win over the highly-fancied Belgians, and then eased through to the semifinal with an emphatic 5-0 win over Poland in their final group game.

They were able to carry this form into their semifinal with France, and despite going 1-0 down, they came storming back to cruise to a 4-1 win – hence them being installed as favorites to win it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_fWEkMINQQ

Spain have won this competition four times – their most recent win being in 2013 – and a  fifth triumph would take them level with Italy, who currently hold the record for the most U-21 titles. But they have their work cut out against a talented German side that contains Luca Waldschmidt, who has already scored seven goals this tournament, and in doing so became the first German player to score in four consecutive games in an U-21 final tournament.

Gian-Luca Waldschmidt has now scored six goals at the #U21EURO

⚽️ vs. 🇩🇰
⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs. 🇷🇸
⚽️ vs. 🇦🇹
⚽️ vs. 🇷🇴

The top scorer has netted in all four games. pic.twitter.com/9r5AXfN2uT

— Squawka (@Squawka) June 27, 2019

Their squad contains four members of the victorious 2017 squad – Levin Öztunalı, Waldemar Anton, Mahmoud Dahoud, and Nadiem Amiri.

A Cautious One in the Italian Heat

We expect it to be a cagey one with neither side being too attacking or over-ambitious early on due to the searing heat. In some ways this will favor the Spanish and their naturally patient approach.

And it’s for that reason, along with their slight technical superiority, that we can see Spain winning, possibly in extra-time.

Pick: Spain (AET) -115