Less than two weeks after locking horns in the group phase of the Under-21 Euro 2023 Championships, Israel Under-21s and England Under-21s renew hostilities at the Adjarabet Arena on Wednesday with a spot on the final on offer.
The Young Chosen Team broke Georgian hearts by eliminating the co-hosts on penalties in the quarter-finals, while the Young Lions survived several scares to edge past Portugal 1-0.
Match preview
Scraping through Group C by the skin of their teeth - thanks purely to a last-gasp win over the Czech Republic on matchday three - Israel arguably went into their quarter-final affair with unfancied co-hosts Georgia as the underdogs given the Crusaders' surprise exploits in Group A.
Georgia had topped a group comprising Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time in their history, but Israel had already proven to be a tough nut to crack - holding eliminated champions Germany to a 1-1 draw on matchday one - and Guy Luzon's men flaunted every inch of their defensive nous in the quarters.
Despite only seeing 39% of the ball, Israel kept the scoreline goalless during 120 minutes of tense action, after which Daniel Peretz saved from Giorgi Gagua in the penalty shootout before Saba Khvadagiani fluffed his lines, sending Luzon's charges through to the final four.
Prior to the 2023 competition, Israel had just two group-stage exits to their name from the 2007 and 2013 Under-21 Euros tournaments - qualifying for the latter finals as hosts - but with a handful of players in the squad propelling their nation to the Under-19s final last year, their astounding progress at this level may not come as too much of a surprise.
However, there will be no awards for guessing who denied Israel a shot at continental glory in the Under-19s tournament, and a spate of suspensions will also do Luzon's side no favours whatsoever as they prepare to tackle the only nation to best them at the 2023 Euros so far.
Israel and Georgia's quarter-final may have gone the distance, but a crestfallen Portugal were left scratching their heads as to how they failed to force extra time against England, who were under the cosh for the entire second half on Sunday but withstood a barrage of attacks to prevail.
The Young Lions made their first-half dominance count through Anthony Gordon's fine finish, and a combination of wasteful Portuguese finishing and last-ditch English defending - special praise was reserved for James Trafford and Taylor Harwood-Bellis - sent the Young Lions through.
Manager Lee Carsley will certainly make no bones about his side's good fortune on the day - England also survived a couple of Portugal penalty shouts - but the end result is only a second semi-final appearance for the Group C winners since 2011, having been knocked out at this stage of the 2017 tournament to Germany.
Two miserable group-stage exits under Aidy Boothroyd followed, but Carsley has broken new ground with his collection of household names, who have still not conceded a single goal at the 2023 Euros - no other present or eliminated team can also share that honour.
Goals from Gordon and Emile Smith Rowe either side of the half-time whistle propelled England to a 2-0 win over Israel during their group-stage encounter on June 25, and a shot at glory against Spain or Ukraine in the final will await Carsley's side should they make lightning strike twice on the Batumi soil, but Israel may have learned a lesson or two from that humbling afternoon.
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