2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: Ukraine, Israel and Spain qualify for Paris 2024 men's football tournament
Ukraine earned their first-ever Olympic football quota while Israel are set to make their first appearance in an Olympic football tournament in 48 years. Also qualified are the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Spain who will look to avenge their extra time loss to Brazil.
Football
Ukraine, Israel and Spain have qualified for the men's football competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by advancing to the semi-finals of 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
According to the qualification criteria, the top three ranked teams earn quotas to the upcoming Olympic Games.
Underdogs Ukraine upset France 3-1 in a thrilling quarter-final on Sunday (2 July) that saw Georgiy Sudakov score two goals to give his team a lead heading into half-time.
A third goal by Artem Bondarenko took Ukraine into the semi-finals and earned their first-ever ticket to an Olympic football tournament.
"We showed today that we're a real team, that we know how to play with the ball," Sudakov told UEFA.com after the match. "France are a tough side to play. But I think all the Ukrainians who watched this game tonight will be proud because we showed real quality in our performance."
Israel: Return to the Olympic stage after nearly half a century
England beat Portugal 1-0 in an earlier quarter-final on Sunday but as they are not eligible to qualify on behalf of the British Olympic team, this led to the Olympic quotas being awarded to Israel and Spain.
Israel advanced to the semi-finals after beating Georgia 4-3 on penalties on Saturday (1 July).
Paris 2024 will mark the country's first Olympic appearance in a football tournament since tying for fifth place at Montreal 1976.
“We made history today," Israel's goalkeeper Daniel Perez told UEFA.com after the quarter-final victory. "It’s not just me. It’s all the team. I don’t think Georgia had a shot on target in 120 minutes. Amazing effort from the team, amazing tactics from the coach who believes in us so much."
Spain: Silver medallists back for gold
On the opposite end of the scale, Spain are a regular fixture in Olympic football tournaments. The team won four Olympic medals, going back to 1920, including gold at the home 1992 Games in Barcelona.
At Tokyo 2020 Spain finished second after an extra time 2-1 loss to Brazil.
Spain beat Switzerland 2-1 in extra time in the second quarter-final on Saturday (1 July) to earn their next shot at Olympic gold.
“We came here for the win and we got it the hard way. Switzerland are a great team and I have to congratulate them as they played a very good tournament," Spain's winning goal scorer Juan Miranda told UEFA.com after the match. "I’m very happy as we’ve got to the semi-finals.”
The Paris 2024 football tournament will feature 16 teams. In addition to hosts France, the squads from the United States and Dominican Republic have already secured their spots in the line-up by virtue of playing in the final of the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Schedule
Semifinals
Wednesday, 5 July
- Israel - England (18:00, Batumi Arena, Batumi)
- Spain - Ukraine (21:00, Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest)
Final
Saturday, 8 July
- European UEFA U-21 Championship 2023 Final (18:00, Batumi Arena, Batumi)