When Spain flew out the traps in this semi-final, it seemed just a matter of time before they opened the scoring. Oihan Sancet threatened to do just that when his fierce drive was smartly stopped by Anatoliy Trubin, who had perhaps just inadvertently spurred his side on, because just a few moments later Ukraine were ahead.
Chelsea’s big-money star Mykhailo Mudryk was unsurprisingly involved, working his way to the byline before cutting the ball back for Artem Bondarenko to fire Ukraine into a surprise lead.
Their joy was short lived however, as Abel Ruiz pounced upon a defensive mishap in the Ukraine back line before rounding Trubin and slamming the ball into the unguarded net to level the scores.
Having been thwarted once by Trubin, Sancet was in no mood to be denied twice, unleashing a stinging drive from the edge of the area that nestled in the bottom corner as Spain completed the turnaround in the space of
With their foot still firmly to the floor after the break, Spain set about laying the game to rest and doubled their advantage inside 10 minutes of the restart.
Antonio Blanco was quickest to pounce upon a loose ball on the edge of the area, and after taking one touch to compose himself, he rifled home Spain’s third with his next.
You sensed one more goal would kill the game, and Aimar Oroz found that with 20 minutes to play, leaving Spain with the chance to wind down ahead of Saturday’s final.
Spain boss Santi Denia took the opportunity to withdraw some of his big-hitters too, but that didn’t stop them adding a fifth through Sergio Gomez, who curled home a sumptuous effort into the top corner.
The dominance displayed by Spain this evening was in stark contrast to the 2-2 draw these two sides played out in the group stage, and leaves Saturday’s final with England looking set to be one for the ages between two nations with buckets of young talent.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Antonio Blanco (Spain)