Saúl, 22, will win his 48th cap at youth level in Krakow against Germany having secured only one title – the European Under-19 Championship in 2012 after La Rojita surprisingly failed to qualify for the Under-21 finals last time, when Saúl was suffering from a debilitating kidney injury. As expected Spain topped their group as they breezed past every opponent in the group stage while Germany had to settle for second place in their group after they lost their final group stage match against Italy. For the second and final time the Atlético Madrid midfielder, whose brilliant hat-trick destroyed Italy in the semi-final on Tuesday, will attempt to win this competition, at the end of an international youth career that started in 2009 for the under-16 side.
In association football, Germany defeats Spain 1–0 in the final to win the 2017 edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.