France secured their first win at the UEFA Under-21 European Championship in dramatic fashion, overturning a 2-1 deficit in the dying minutes to defeat Georgia 3-2 on Saturday. The result leaves Les Bleuets in a commanding position to progress from Group C, needing just a point in their final group fixture against already-eliminated Poland.
Appearing in their fourth consecutive edition of the tournament, France have consistently been one of the strongest performers since the competition’s reformatting in 2000, having reached the knockout stages in all five appearances since. With this pedigree behind them and a strong start to 2025, four wins and a draw from five matches, scoring 14 goals,Sylvain Ripoll’s side remain among the leading contenders to lift the trophy.
Their final group opponent, Poland, present an enticing opportunity for France to seal qualification in style. The Poles have never beaten France at U21 level across eight meetings (W0, D3, L5), conceding at least twice in six of those encounters. The head-to-head record heavily favours the French, and with Poland already knocked out of the tournament, expectations for a dominant display are high.
Poland’s campaign has been one to forget. After a surprise 2-1 defeat to Georgia on matchday one, their hopes were crushed in a 5-0 demolition by Portugal. Bottom of the group and yet to lead in a match, the Poles have now conceded six unanswered goals and are still searching for their first open-play goal of the tournament.
Jakub Kałuziński’s penalty against Georgia remains Poland’s only strike in this year’s competition. The Antalyaspor midfielder will be hoping to inspire some pride in Žilina, despite the odds being stacked against his side. Historically, Poland have recorded a few victories over France at youth levels below U21 (U17 and U18), but none in a competitive setting.
In contrast, France’s Mathys Tel continues to grow in stature. The Tottenham forward opened the scoring from the spot against Georgia and has previously netted against Poland in a 6-1 U17 win, underlining his threat heading into the final group game.
Hot stat: Six of Poland’s last eight matches have produced over 3.5 total goals—a potential sign of more drama to come in their clash with the high-scoring French.
