22:36: I've been your host this evening for Sweden U21 - Portugal U21, in the 2015 UEFA Under-21 European Championships. William Carvalho's miss meant the Swedes won the competition for their first stay. Follow VAVEL, and stay tuned for all the latest sports news around the world.
22:30 Sweden are the 2015 UEFA Under-21 European Champions beating Portugal 4-3 on penalties. What a triumph for Sweden, heartbreak for Portugal.
SAVED! Sweden 4-3 Portugal (Carlgren saves down low from Carvalho)
GOAL! Sweden 4-3 Portugal (Lindelöf)
GOAL! Sweden 3-3 Portugal (Mario)
SAVED! Sweden 3-2 Portugal (Khalili down low, Sa saves)
SAVED! Sweden 3-2 Portugal (Carlgren at full stretch to save from Esgaio)
GOAL! Sweden 3-2 Portugal (Augustinsson)
GOAL! Sweden 2-2 Portugal (Toze)
GOAL! Sweden 2-1 Portugal (Thelin)
GOAL! Sweden 1-1 Portugal (Paciência)
GOAL! Sweden 1-0 Portugal (Guidetti)
22:20 Here we go in Prague. Guidetti will step up first for Sweden.
Full time AET Sweden U21 0-0 Portugal U21. We'll be needing penalties to decide the winner of this tournament.
118' Medeiros drifting in from the right flank again, finds Toze who goes for the lob, but Carlgren collects.
113' Sweden have played against all odds this evening. It's starting to look as though this final will be settled from the penalty spot, as both sides are looking tired.
108' Right back Lindelöf with a neat roulette in the Portugal half, before being brought down, allowing the Portuguese to counter, which resulted in nothing.
105' It's half time in extra time. Still no goals, teams are even. Penalties are looming.
102' Probing play from Sweden. Quaison holds off three players before finding Khalili. Guidetti's run takes the defender with him, allowing Khalili to bend it in, just beating Sa.
94' Khalili with the first real chance of extra time, curling the ball from distance, beyond Sa, but also the post.
91' We're back underway in Prague as both Portugal and Sweden look to win the tournament for their first time.
Full Time: Sweden U21 1-1 Portugal U21. We'll be needing an extra 30 minutes of football here in Prague to find a winner.
89' Portugal don't want this to go into extra time. Medeiros with a chance to win it late on, forcing a corner, which resulted in Ilori climbing above his marker, but failing to get it on target.
85' Portugal at sixes and sevens as Sweden nearly win it in the closing stages. Thelin and Guidetti both with chances from seven yards, but Sa denied Sweden the goal.
79' As we enter the last 10 minutes, Sweden have scored seven goals at the U21 European Championships, four of these have come after 80 minutes.
76' Guerreiro forward down the left flank, but the Lorient left-back with the wrong decision, allowing Carlgren to collect.
69' Paciência comes on for Porto in place of Ricardo. He scored the openening goal in Portugal's 1-1 draw with Sweden last time out.
68' Toze with another effort from distance - deflected out for a Portugal corner. Comes to nothing.
63' Substitute Medeiros almost scored the the first goal of the game. Game's starting to open up a little bit more now, as he cuts inside onto his favoured left foot, skimming just wide of the far post.
61' Toze with a chance from just outside the area for Portugal. Sweden starting to drop off just a little too deep, allowing Portugal to shoot from just outside the box.
52' CHANCE for Sweden. Thelin causing problems with his height. Heads the ball down to Guideti, who catches the ball on the half volley. His effort flew just over the bar. Sergio Oliveira with a long distance strike up the other end of the pitch.
50' Lindelöf finds himself in the Portugal box, but his header is only into the palms of Sa. Following the counter-attack, Ricardo nearly put Portugal in the lead at the other end. End-to-end start to this second half.
46' Tactical change for Sweden as they get the game back underway. Baffo, who missed the semi-final, replaces Helander.
20:40 Portugal have to score within the first 15 minutes of the restart if they are to get anything from the game. As time goes on, Sweden are going to grow into the game as time goes on. Portugal need to get Bernardo Silva on the ball.
Half time - Sweden U21 0-0 Portugal U21
40' Five minutes until half-time. Sergio Oliveira pulls the ball back for Guerreiro, but the left-back fires his effort over from 25-yards.
37' Better from Portugal. For a moment, they sliced open Sweden. Esgaio down the right, pulls the ball back for Joao Mario, who ought to have done better after failing to get his shot on target.
35' Guerreiro bombing forward down the left-flank, wins a free kick. Sergio Oliveira opts for goal instead of crossing it in - easy for Carlgren to collect.
30' Sweden quite happy to drop back, allowing Portugal to probe. Swedes defending very well, whilst Bernardo Silva and Co look lost as what to do.
24' A quiet spell from both sides, as Ivan Cavaleiro is the brightest spark for Portugal down the left, as Lewicki shoots from 20-yards, forcing Sa into making a save.
13' Esgaio and Cavaleiro combine, allowing Joao Mario a chance at goal, but the Sporting CP midfielder is unable to keep his effort down.
11' Sweden slowly starting to get into the game. Thelin, with the header at the far post, but unable to generate enough power for it to trouble Sa.
6' HUGE change for Sergio Oliveira. His free-kick cannons back off the cross bar.
2' Portugal certainly starting on top. Porto's Ricardo drives the ball low and hard from the edge of the area, finding the side netting - as Portugal look to dominate the opening stages.
2' Early pressure from Portugal sees Joao Mario drive the ball low and hard towards goal. Ivan Cavaleiro saw his cross deflected out for a corner.
1' We're underway in Prague, it's Sweden U21 - Portugal U21 in the 2015 UEFA Under-21 European Championship.
19:34 Swedish fans are out in their numbers, as they have been all tournament, and what a great one it has been. From Portugal's 5-0 drubbing of Germany, to Sweden's comeback against Italy and England's exit at the group stage.
19:40 Teams on the way out of the tunnel, we're just moments away from kick off here in Prague. Stay tuned for up to date text commentary.
19:25 There's great potential in this Portugal side, in particular, Bernardo Silva of AS Monaco. This side has the ability to reach the heights of their national side that included the likes of Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Pauleta. Saying that, don't write Sweden off. They've beaten the likes of Italy, and have already drawn with Portugal.
19:16 The major player missing for Sweden this evening is Baffo, who isn't fit enough to start. Helander has been poor for Ericson's side, whilst Augustinsson and Lindelof have been solid at full-back.
19:08 We're just over 30 mintues away from kick off. A reminder, that whoever the victory is tonight - this win will be their first European Championshup Under-21 tournament win.
18:50 Portugal X: Josa Sa; Esgaio, P Oliveira, Ilori, Guerreiro; Mario, William, Sergio, Bernardo; Ricardo, Cavaleiro
18:50 Sweden XI: Carlgren; Lindelof, Milosevic, Helander, Augustinsson; Khalili, Lewicki, Hiljemark, Tibbling; Thelin, Guidetti
This is gearing up to be a great European Championship 2015 Final, and with the kick off now just three-and-a-half hours away, stay tuned for team news to follow.
Jorge's opposite number, Hakan Ericson feels the same way towards Portugal. Ericson warned Portugal they "do things a bit different than Germany," following Portugal's 5-0 win. Ericson stated that one way to stop the Portuguese is to "deny them the big areas," and to "reduce the speed of their quickest players."
Portugal U21 manager, Rui Jorge will be taking nothing for granted ahead of their 2015 UEFA Under-21 European Championship Final - Sweden, stating that you need quality in your team to reach the final, and that Portugal will be "playing a strong team." Jorge has praised his team ahead of the final, with "passion and quality" the "most important thing."
Something that is for sure tonight is that we’ll have a new name on the trophy, with neither side having won the trophy in it’s history. Both have lost finals, both to group opponents Italy, and both in the 1990’s! The finals used to be played over two legs, and Italy prevailed 2-1 over Sweden in 1992, depsite the Swedes winning the second leg.
Possible Portugal XI: Jose Sa, Esgaio, Oliviera, Guerreiro, Carvalho, Oliviera, Silva, Figueiredo, Ricardo, Mario, Cavaleiro.
Retaining their title two years later, Italy beat Portugal 1-0 in the final, in a tournament remembered for Luis Figo making a name for himself, winning Player of the Tournament. The big factor for Portugal will be whether or not Tiago Illori makes the side, depending on his fitness. It’s unlikely that we’ll see any other changes, after the nature of their victory over Germany.
Possible Sweden XI: Carlgren, Lindelof, Milosevic, Helander, Augustinsson, Lewicki, Hiljemark, Khalili, Tibbling, Guidetti, Kiese-Thelin.
It’s hard to see Sweden changing their lineup from the semi final crushing of Denmark, however there could be a possibility of them switching to a five man midfield, in order to combat Portugal’s passing play.
Tiago Illori of Liverpool was a key part of Portugal’s run through the group stages, but pulled up with a thigh injury against Sweden on matchday three. He faces a battle to be fit for the final, but knows that his team will “do everything they can to win”, with or without him. He reported that Portugal are “very confident, but humble enough to know that every team in the competition has been good,” meaning that they “will give their best, and respect Sweden”.
Similarly to Sweden, Portugal have just one injury problem, and it’s a defender. Tiago Illori picked up a thigh problem against Sweden and although he did play against Germany, he'll carry hopes of returning for the final.
Sweden only have one injury concern, and that’s defender Joseph Boffa. Struck down with an injury in their final group game, Hakan Ericson will be hoping that Boffa can shake off a shoulder problem to make the team.
When every team looks back on the tournament, there’ll be mixed reviews in each camp. Sweden are certainly the major winners as of yet, with nobody expecting them to come this far. Denmark can also look back on the competition with fondness, despite their disappointing semi final exit.
On the other hand, the likes of England and Czech Republic won’t want to remember their campaigns too fondly. Gareth Southgate’s men carried high hopes into the tournament, but could only manage two goals and three points from Group B. The hosts also failed to live up to expectations, crashing out at the group stage also.
The Eden Stadium is to host tonight’s final. Located in Prague, the 2008 opened stadium is called home by Czech side Slavia Prague and holds just over 20,000 seats. It has hosted five senior international games, most recently Czech Republic 2-2 Norway last year, with Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky getting on the scoresheet.
Malmo’s Oscar Lewicki has been a key part of the Sweden team at the finals so far, starting in all four games, and making one assist from midfield. Speaking of his emotions ahead of the final, Lewicki admitted that he was “struggling to sleep” due to the idea of “the whole Swedish football scene watching.”
Sweden’s vibrant yellow support has been excellent at the finals from start to finish, and Lewicki explained that “everyone at home was very proud”, and they wanted to go one step further and “do them proud” in the final. However, he did admit that they faced a tough challenge to do so, praising Portugal for being a “very technical team” that contains “many skillful players”.
Polish referee, Szymon Marciniak will take charge of the 2015 UEFA European Championship Final, Sweden U21 - Portugal U21. Speaking to UEFA.com, Marciniak was said to be “proud” of his team, stating they “support each other,” during times that players or fans may be against a decision made. Marciniak’s next step is Euro 2016, held in France, saying: “every referee dreams of going to Euro 2016,” stating that France is “also my target.”
Following Portugal’s 1-1 draw against Sweden in their final game of Group A, the Portuguese faced Germany in the semi-final. Heading into the game many predicted that the German side, which included Champions League winner, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, to control the game, beating Portugal in every department. That however wasn’t the case. Bernardo Silva gave Portugal the lead midway through the first half, before Ricardo and Ivan Cavaleiro put the Portuguese three goals up before the break. Joao Mario and Ricardo Horta then completed the rout in the second half, sending the Germans packing.
Portugal started off with a dominant win in their opening game against England. Dominating possession, it was a goal from Sporting CP’s Joao Mario with the important goal, securing a 1-0 win. Their second game ended in a 0-0 draw, against the Italians. A poor performance from Portugal resulted in no final product, with Mane and Rafa both starting that game, in place of the impressive Ivan Cavaleiro and Ricardo Pereira.
The semi-finals saw Sweden go up against Group A winners, Denmark. John Guidetti and Simon Tibbling put Sweden 2-0 up within 26 minutes, before Uffe Bech pulled a goal back for Denmark. Palermo’s Quaison gave Sweden a two-goal cushion seven minutes from time, before Oscar Hiljemark secured Sweden’s place in the 2015 UEFA European Championship Final.
A late goal from Jesse Lingard meant that England handed Sweden their first defeat of the competition, six minutes from time. Italy’s 3-1 victory over England in the final group game meant that Sweden needed a draw heading into the final game of Group B, - today’s opponents, Portugal. Gonçalo Paciência put Portugal a goal up eight minutes from time, in a game where a win or draw would put Sweden through. The hero that night however was Simon Tibbling of FC Groningen. The 20-year old showed composure to put the ball past Jose Sa with virtually the last kick of the game.
Sweden started off their 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign with a victory over Italy. The Italians took the lead through Domenico Berardi from the spot, before John Guidetti equalised for Sweden 10 minutes after the break. Stefano Sturaro was then shown a red card for Italy, before Francesco Bardi gave away a penalty – which resulted in Isaac Kiese Thelin earning Sweden the three points.
The tournament has certainly lived up to it’s billing, with 37 goals scored in 14 games at an average of over 2.6 goals per game. It all boils down to tonight’s match, which will see one team victorious.
Good evening and welcome to VAVEL’s live coverage of Sweden U21 - Portugal U21 in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, hosted in Czech Republic. Tonight’s game will take place at the Eden Stadium, Prague. Kick off will be at 19:45BST.