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Spain U23 play Ivory Coast U23 in the quarter-finals of the men's football tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They will be looking to book their place in the last-four for the first time in 21 years.
La Roja finished as the winners of Group C with five points, one more than Egypt, despite scoring only twice in three games.
The side also lost Oscar Mingueza and Dani Ceballos to injuries in the opening match, and both have been ruled out of the Games.
Yet the Spanish colts have punched above their weight with a stoic defense and now the semi-finals are in sight.
Ivory Coast U23s have also impressed so far. They qualified from a tough group containing heavyweights Brazil and Germany, whom they knocked out with a draw in the last group fixture.
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What's more startling is that the side has managed so much despite netting only thrice, of which two were just own goals! Franck Kessie remains the only Ivorian player to have found the net at this year's Olympics.
Spain U23 vs Ivory Coast U23 Head-To-Head
This will be their first meeting at the Olympics.
Spain U23 Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-D-D
Ivory Coast U23 Form Guide (all competitions): D-D-W-L-W
Spain U23 vs Ivory Coast U23 Team News
Spain U23
La Roja have coped well with Oscar Mingueza and Dani Ceballos' injuries and head coach Luis de la Fuente may opt to field the same line-up that held out Argentina in their last game.
Injured: Oscar Mingueza, Dani Ceballos
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Ivory Coast U23
Eboue Kouassi is available for selection again as the midfielder served his one-game suspension when the Ivorians played Germany last time out.
He might come straight into the XI with the rest of the line-up unchanged.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Spain U23 vs Ivory Coast U23 Predicted XI
Spain U23 (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Marc Cucurella, Pau Torres, Eric Garcia, Bryan Gil; Pedri, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino; Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Marco Asensio.
Ivory Coast (4-2-3-1): Ira Tape; Ismael Diallo, Kouadio-Yves Dabila, Eric Bailly, Wilfried Singo; Kader Keita, Eboue Kouassi; Max Gradel, Franck Kessie, Christian Kouame; Youssouef Dao.
Spain U23 vs Ivory Coast U23 Prediction
Spain have not scored many goals at the Games but their possession-based style of play has served their purpose well.
Ivory Coast will look back on their draw against Germany for inspiration but do not have the quality to win a big knockout game like this.
Prediction: Spain U23 2-0 Ivory Coast U23
