January 15, 2021 - The U-21 Croatia football team will play their group stage matches of the European Under-21 Championship in Koper.
HNS reports that the European Football Federation (UEFA) has announced the final schedule of the European Under-21 Championship, which will also feature the young Croatia national team.
The U-21 Euros will be played in two parts. The first part, the group competition, is scheduled from March 24 to 31, and the knockout phase will be played from May 31 to June 6.
The young Croatia side will play all matches in Group D in Koper. In the first match on March 25 at 9 pm, they will face Portugal, followed by matches against Switzerland on March 28 (6 pm) and England on March 31 (6 pm).
The two first-placed teams from the group will advance to the knockout phase of the competition. The quarterfinal matches will be played on May 31 in Budapest, Szekesfehervar, Maribor, and Ljubljana, the semifinal on June 3 in Szekesfehervar and Maribor, and the final on June 6 in Ljubljana.
Euro, U-21, Group D match schedule:
March 25:
Koper: CROATIA - PORTUGAL
Koper: ENGLAND - SWITZERLAND
March 28:
Koper: CROATIA - SWITZERLAND
Ljubljana: PORTUGAL - ENGLAND
March 31:
Koper: CROATIA - ENGLAND
Ljubljana: SWITZERLAND - PORTUGAL
Recall, after a turbulent but successful journey through the qualifications, the Croatia U-21 side secured a spot at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
After a huge victory against Lithuania in Pula (7:0) and Greece’s victory against Scotland (1:0) back in November, the young Vatreni won second place in the qualifying Group 4 for the European Championship, and the results in other groups allowed them to place among the five the best runners-up.
Before the final round, Croatia was in a difficult, almost hopeless situation. After they played 2:2 in Scotland and the Czech Republic defeated Greece, it was clear that Croatia lost their chances for first place.
The only hope for qualifying for the Euros was to get through among the top five runners-up. However, coach Igor Bišćan's side did not depend only on themselves, but on other matches' outcome.
In the end, it all came together.
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