Santi Denia brings his Spanish U-21 squad to Bratislava for the opening match of Euro 2025 against host nation Slovakia on June 11, with kickoff set for 19:00 at Tegelne Pole stadium. The Spanish coach, who led "La Rojita" to Olympic gold in Paris last summer, faces the challenge of starting the tournament without injured winger Jeremaj.
"Every opening match has its own pressure, especially against the hosts with their crowd behind them," a Spanish team representative might say about the upcoming fixture.
This match pits one of the tournament's heavyweights against an underdog host nation. Spain enters as co-favorites alongside Germany, boasting five European U-21 championships in their trophy cabinet—a record they share with Italy. Their qualification campaign was nearly flawless, winning nine of ten matches with a goal difference of 27:4.
Interestingly, Slovakia defeated Spain 2-0 in a March 2024 friendly, but competitive matches tell a different story. The hosts have won just one of their previous eight official encounters with the Spanish side.
Jaroslav Kentosh, Slovakia's 51-year-old manager who has led the team since January 2020, guides his "Sokolata" into just their third-ever U-21 European Championship appearance. Their preparation form has been concerning—their last victory came in October against Wales (4:2), followed by five winless matches against fellow Euro participants.
Do the Slovaks have any realistic chance against the Spanish armada? Their recent friendly results against tournament participants suggest they'll struggle, with defeats to Portugal (1:3), Germany (0:1), and a heavy 0:4 loss to France.
Spain isn't without their own concerns. Besides missing Jeremaj, they've failed to win any matches in 2025, drawing with the Czech Republic (2:2) and suffering defeats to Germany (1:3) and Ukraine (0:1) in their final warm-up game.
The Spanish squad could have been even stronger—notably absent are Barcelona talents Pau Cubarsi and Fermin Lopez, who have been called up to the senior national team instead.
For football fans curious about the match, MEGOGO will broadcast this tournament opener. The odds heavily favor Spain, but tournament opening matches can sometimes produce surprises. Will the vocal home support give Slovakia the boost they need? We'll find out soon enough.
