Fighting it out for a place in the European Under-19 Championship final, France Under-19s will meet Ukraine Under-19s at Windsor Park on Thursday.
Les Bleuets topped their group with two wins and a draw, while Ukraine are unbeaten too, so something must give when they clash in the semi-finals.
Match preview
© Reuters
As France had already cruised into the knockout phase on Friday, when a 4-2 defeat of Denmark followed an opening 2-1 win over Turkey, head coach Bernard Diomede made a number of personnel changes for Monday night's final Group B game against Spain.
Saimon Bouabre put Les Bleuets in front after 13 minutes with a thunderous strike, but La Rojita fought back and were leading 2-1 with time running out.
One of Diomede's substitutes, Valentin Atangana, then forced a late own goal from Spanish goalkeeper Raul Jimenez and maintained his team's unbeaten record at this year's finals.
As a result, top spot was confirmed for the 2005, 2010 and 2016 champions, who were tournament winners when the Under-19 Euros were last held in Northern Ireland 19 years ago.
France now head on to Belfast, where Windsor Park will stage both semis and Sunday's final, and several stars of the squad that won the 2022 Under-17 European Championship are now intent on repeating that success this weekend.
Ukraine's only overall triumph at this level came 15 years ago on home soil, but they are now just two wins away from holding the trophy aloft once again.
Victory over an Italy team that had already booked their spot in the semi-finals took Dmytro Mikhailenko's side through as Group A runners-up on Sunday, following an entertaining game at Inver Park.
Gennadiy Synchuk broke the deadlock, but the Azzurrini recovered and were in front shortly after half time; two minutes later, Ukraine got back on level terms via Danylo Krevsun, before Matviy Ponomarenko scored from the spot to secure a precious 3-2 win in Larne.
Having previously played out consecutive goalless draws with Norway and hosts Northern Ireland, the Ukrainians are therefore undefeated so far this summer, after topping their qualifying group without shipping a single goal.
Setting up a final showdown with either Italy or Spain is now the target for Mikhailenko's young charges, but a formidable France team stand in their way.
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Team News
After rotating his squad for the draw with Spain, Bernard Diomede should revert to a more familiar lineup on Thursday evening.
Mayssam Benama is set to return in midfield, while Jean-Matteo Bahoya could be brought back into a three-man attack; Yoni Gomis may replace Elyaz Zidane in defence.
However, Saimon Bouabre will expect to keep his place after scoring for the second time in the tournament, with a spectacular finish on Monday putting him one goal behind top scorer Daniel Braut of Norway in the Golden Boot race.
Throughout qualifying and the finals so far, Matviy Ponomarenko has found the net seven times in eight games, and the Dynamo Kyiv striker will lead Ukraine's attack again.
Therefore, Dmytro Bogdanov and Watford's Kristian Shevchenko - son of Ukraine FA president Andriy Shevchenko, the senior national team's all-time top scorer - are set to start on the bench.
France Under-19s possible starting lineup:
Bengui Joao; Kumbedi, Jacquet, Gomis, Soumahoro; Benama, Atangana, Bouabre; Aiki, Kroupi, Bahoya
Ukraine Under-19s possible starting lineup:
Krapyvstov; Gusev, Melnychenko, Yermachkov, Mykhavko; Vashchenko; Synchuk, Krevsun, Gadzhiev, Matkevych; Ponomarenko
We say: France Under-19s 1-0 Ukraine Under-19s
As Ukraine have conceded just two goals in their last eight competitive matches - both against Italy last week - they should prove a tough nut to crack for favourites France: it may be a one-goal game, decided by either a moment of magic or madness.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
