France U17sFrance Under-17svs.Spain U17sSpain Under-17s

Spain suffered a narrow loss in their opening game against Portugal, while France were swept aside by England in their tournament opener.

Match preview

France began their 15th European Under-17 Championship with a disappointing 4-0 defeat in Tuesday's clash with England.

They shipped three goals in a disastrous first half, before they conceded another in the second period to compound a miserable outing.

France will view a group-stage progression as a minimum expectation, having advanced to the knockout rounds in their last four appearances.

In fact, they will have aspirations of winning the competition, after claiming the trophy in 2022 and reaching the final in last year's competition.

They claimed a 3-1 victory over Spain in the 2023 semi-finals, and they will be hoping to produce a similar scoreline in Friday's clash in Larnaca.

Spain came into the competition with hopes of winning the trophy for the fourth occasion and the first time since 2017.

Impressively, Spain have advanced to the knockout rounds in 12 of their 13 appearances at the European Under-17 Championship, with their only previous failure taking place in 2009.

However, their hopes of securing another knockout-round appearance were dealt a blow by a narrow 2-1 defeat in their opening game against Portugal.

Real Madrid's Daniel Yanez gave Spain a 20th-minute lead, before Portugal turned the game in their favour with two goals in the space of eight minutes.

Having lost their last two competitive matches, Spain will be determined to return to winning ways in the next two matches against France and England.

France Under-17s European Under-17s Championship form:

L

Spain Under-17s European Under-17s Championship form:

L

Team News

France boss Jose Alcocer could be tempted to make a number of changes, with Iliesse Salhi and Darryl Bakoli both pushing for starting berths.

Dijon forward Rayan Messi is also in contention to start, having scored four goals in nine appearances for the Under-17 side.

As for Spain, they will have to assess Manu Gonzalez after the goalkeeper was forced off in the second half against Portugal.

The goalkeeping responsibilities will fall to Real Madrid shot-stopper Alvaro Gonzalez if Manu Gonzalez cannot recover in time for Friday's contest.

Perez is likely to make a couple of changes to his outfield players, with Albert Navarro and David Otorbi both pushing for starting spots.

France Under-17s possible starting lineup:

Niflore; Salhi, Gadou, Angely, Dienck; Bakola, Sellami, Cabral; Kante, Messi, Sternal

Spain Under-17s possible starting lineup:

A Gonzalez; Fortea, Martinez, Aguado, Navarro; Junyent, Bernal, Hernandez; Yanez, Otorbi, Arnuncio

We say: France Under-17s 2-1 Spain Under-17s

France and Spain will both be desperate to get off the mark after losing on matchday one, and we expect the two nations to play their part in a close-fought contest.

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