Spain national under-21 football team

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Spain Under-21
Nickname(s)La Rojita (The Little Red [One])
AssociationRoyal Spanish Football Federation
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachSanti Denia
CaptainBryan Gil
Most capsGerard Deulofeu (36)
Top scorerGerard Deulofeu (17)
FIFA codeESP
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Yugoslavia 4–1 Spain 
(Zagreb, Yugoslavia; 9 October 1976)
Biggest win
 Spain 14–0 San Marino 
(El Ejido, Spain; 8 February 2005)
Biggest defeat
 Netherlands 5–0 Spain 
(Utrecht, Netherlands; 16 February 1983)
Records for competitive matches only.
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances16 (first in 1982)
Best resultWinners (1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019)
Medal record
Spain national under-21 football team
Medal record
U-21 European Championship
Gold medal – first place 1986 Team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Romania Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Denmark Team
Gold medal – first place 2013 Israel Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Italy Team
Silver medal – second place 1984 Team
Silver medal – second place 1996 Spain Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Poland Team
Bronze medal – third place 1994 France Team
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Slovakia Team
The 2011 winning team

The Spain national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team, nicknamed La Rojita (The Little Red [One]),[1] competes in the biennial UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Spain under-21 team was formed. Spain has a strong record (competition winners five times and runners-up twice); having consecutively won the 2011 and 2013 Championships. They hold the joint record with Italy for the most wins of the competition.

Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. For this reason, Spain's brief record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown, though in actuality, Spain played only three competitive U-23 matches. The first was in the "under-23 Challenge", which they lost, while the next two were in a two-team qualification "group" for the 1972 competition (facing the Soviet Union team, they lost 2–1 at home then drew 1–1 away and failed to qualify. Spain did not enter a team in the other two U-23 competitions, but have been ever present in under-21 competitions).

Spain's youth development programs has been challenging the South American dominance in the FIFA U-17 World Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In fact, 20 of the Spanish 23-man squad that won the Euro 2008 came through the ranks of the youth teams; most of them had won titles at the youth level as well.

Competitive record

UEFA European Under-21 Championship Record

Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
1978 Qualifying Stage 4 2 0 2 5 8
1980 Qualifying Stage 4 1 2 1 4 2
1982 Quarter-Finals 6 5 0 1 14 5
1984 Runners-up 10 5 2 3 11 11
1986 Champions 10 7 1 2 18 9
1988 Quarter-Finals 8 4 2 2 10 4
1990 Quarter-Finals 6 4 0 2 5 4
1992 Qualifying Stage 7 3 2 2 6 5
France 1994 Third Place 12 9 2 1 21 9
Spain 1996 Runners-up 14 10 3 1 34 14
Romania 1998 Champions 11 10 1 0 21 6
Slovakia 2000 Third Place 14 11 3 0 31 7
Switzerland 2002 Qualification Playoffs 10 6 1 3 15 9
Germany 2004 Qualification Playoffs 10 6 2 2 17 5
Portugal 2006 Qualifying Stage 10 6 2 2 37 8
Netherlands 2007 Qualification Playoffs 4 2 1 1 8 4
Sweden 2009 Group Stage 13 10 1 2 27 7
Denmark 2011 Champions 15 12 2 1 31 8
Israel 2013 Champions 15 14 1 0 47 5
Czech Republic 2015 Qualification Playoffs 10 7 2 1 25 8
Poland 2017 Runners-up 15 11 2 2 43 12
Italy 2019 Champions 15 13 0 2 45 16
HungarySlovenia 2021 Semifinals 15 12 2 1 27 3
RomaniaGeorgia (country) 2023 Qualified
Total 15/23 238 170 34 34 502 169

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

  • Gold background color indicates first-place finish. Silver background color indicates second-place finish. Bronze background color indicates third-place finish.
  • Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Individual awards

Spanish players have won individual awards at UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

Year Golden Player Golden Boot
Europe 1986 Manolo Sanchís
Romania 1998 Francesc Arnau
Denmark 2011 Juan Mata Adrián
Israel 2013 Thiago Álvaro Morata
Poland 2017 Dani Ceballos Saúl
Italy San Marino 2019 Fabián Ruiz

Player records

Top appearances

Rank Player Club(s) Year(s) U-21 Caps
1 Gerard Deulofeu Barcelona, Everton, Sevilla, Milan 2012–2017 36
2 Borja Mayoral Real Madrid, VfL Wolfsburg, Levante 2015–2019 31
  Jorge Meré Sporting Gijón, FC Köln 2015–2019 31
  Iker Muniain Athletic Bilbao 2011–2014 31
5 Dani Ceballos Betis, Real Madrid 2015–2019 29
6 Santi Denia Albacete, Atlético Madrid 1992–1996 27
  David de Gea Atlético Madrid, Manchester United 2009–2013 27
8 Diego Capel Sevilla 2007–2011 25
  Mikel Oyarzabal Real Sociedad 2017–2019 25
  Saúl Atlético Madrid, Rayo Vallecano 2013–2017 25
  Xavi Barcelona 1998–2001 25

Note: Club(s) represents all the clubs that players played in at the time they did it too in the Under-21s.

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club(s) Year(s) U-21 Goals
1 Gerard Deulofeu Barcelona, Everton, Sevilla, Milan 2012–2017 17
2 Borja Mayoral Real Madrid, VfL Wolfsburg, Levante 2015–2019 16
3 Rodrigo Benfica 2011–2013 15
4 Isco Málaga, Real Madrid 2011–2014 14
5 Álvaro Morata Real Madrid, Juventus 2013–2014 13
6 Óscar Barcelona, Albacete 1992–1996 12
7 Munir Barcelona 2014–2016 10
8 Pablo Couñago Celta, Recreativo, Ipswich Town 1999–2001 9
  Adrián Deportivo, Alavés, Málaga, Atlético Madrid 2007–2011 9
  Saúl Atlético Madrid, Rayo Vallecano 2013–2017 9

Note: Club(s) represents all the clubs that players played in at the time they did it too in the Under-21s.

  • Caps and goals correct as of 3 September 2020.

Recent results

Date Competition Location Opponent Result Scorers
3 September 2020 2021 UEFA U-21 qualification Skopje, North Macedonia  North Macedonia 1–0 Hugo Duro 84' (pen.)
8 October 2020 2021 UEFA U-21 qualification Tórsvøllur, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 2–0 Brahim Díaz 51', 90+1'
13 October 2020 2021 UEFA U-21 qualification Alcorcón, Spain  Kazakhstan 3–0 Guillamón 65', Dani Gómez 71', 85'
12 November 2020 2021 UEFA U-21 qualification Marbella, Spain  Faroe Islands 2–0 Pedrosa 67', Roberto López 87'
17 November 2020 2021 UEFA U-21 qualification Marbella, Spain  Israel 3–0 Roberto López 65' (pen.), Barrenetxea 75', Moncayola 89'
24 March 2021 2021 UEFA U-21 group stage Maribor, Slovenia  Slovenia 3–0 Puado 53', Gonzalo Villar 54', Miranda 89'
27 March 2021 2021 UEFA U-21 group stage Maribor, Slovenia  Italy 0–0
30 March 2021 2021 UEFA U-21 group stage Celje, Slovenia  Czech Republic 2–0 Dani Gómez 69', 78'
31 May 2021 2021 UEFA U-21 quarter-finals Maribor, Slovenia  Croatia 2–1 Puado 66', 110'
3 June 2021 2021 UEFA U-21 semi-finals Maribor, Slovenia  Portugal 0–1
3 September 2021 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Almendralejo, Spain  Russia 4–1 Fer Niño 13', 54', Pino 47', 86'
7 September 2021 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Vilnius, Lithuania  Lithuania 2–0 Francés 32', Pino 78'
8 October 2021 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Seville, Spain  Slovakia 3–2 Guillamón 58', Sergio Gómez 80' (pen.), Miranda 88' (pen.)
12 October 2021 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Seville, Spain  Northern Ireland 3–0 Sergio Gómez 26' (pen.), 32', Abel Ruiz 56'
12 November 2021 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Ta' Qali, Malta  Malta 5–0 Sergio Gómez 23', Abel Ruiz 24', 88', Guillamón 40', Lobete 50'
16 November 2021 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Khimki, Russia  Russia 0–1
25 March 2022 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Huelva, Spain  Lithuania 8–0 Rodri 16', 37', Sergio Gómez 35', Bryan Gil 40', Abel Ruiz 43', Manu Sánchez 61', Baena 65', Turrientes 70'
29 March 2022 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Žilina, Slovakia  Slovakia 3–2 Bryan Gil 4', Sergio Gómez 66', Navarro 81'
3 June 2022 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Larne, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 6–0 Ruiz 22', Gil 50', 61', Miranda 64', Riquelme 76', V. Gómez 87'
7 June 2022 2023 UEFA U-21 qualification Melilla, Spain  Malta 7–1 Navarro 8', 69', Ruiz 8 47', 64', Manu Sánchez 55', Lobete 73', 78'
23 September 2022 Friendly Cluj-Napoca, Romania  Romania 4–1 Ruiz 8', 18', Riquelme 80', 89'
27 September 2022 Friendly Huesca, Spain  Norway 3–0 Gragera 40', Ruiz 51', Novoa 90'
18 November 2022 Friendly Seville, Spain  Japan 2–0 Turrientes 47', Manu Sánchez 69'
21 June 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Bucharest, Romania  Romania 3–0 Baena 55', Miranda 62', Sergio Gómez 90+5'
24 June 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Giulești, Romania  Croatia 1–0 Abel Ruiz 1'
27 June 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Giulești, Romania  Ukraine 2–2 Ivan Zhelizko 49' (o.g.), Abel Ruiz 90'
1 July 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Giulești, Romania   Switzerland 2–1 Sergio Gómez 68', Miranda 103'
5 July 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Bucharest, Romania  Ukraine 5–1 Ruiz 17', Sancet 24', Blanco 54', Aimar Oroz 68', Sergio Gómez 78'

Forthcoming fixtures

Date Competition Location Opponent
8 July 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Batumi, Georgia  England

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Group phase

Main article: 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group C
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 8 8 0 0 37 5 +32 24 Final tournament — 3–2 3–0 8–0 7–1 4–1
2  Slovakia 8 5 0 3 18 10 +8 15 Play-offs 2–3 — 2–1 3–1 4–0 Canc.
3  Northern Ireland 8 2 1 5 8 18 −10 7 0–6 1–0 — 4–0 0–2 Canc.
4  Lithuania 8 2 1 5 7 22 −15 7 0–2 0–2 1–1 — 2–1 0–3
5  Malta 8 2 0 6 10 25 −15 6 0–5 1–3 4–1 1–3 — Canc.
6  Russia[a] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Disqualified 1–0 3–0 1–0 Canc. 6–0 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ On 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams from all competitions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2][3] On 2 May 2022, UEFA expelled Russia and declared all of their results to be null and void.[4][5]

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Caps and goals as of 5 July 2023, after the match against Ukraine.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Arnau Tenas (2001-05-30) 30 May 2001 (age 22) 12 0 Spain Barcelona
13 1GK Julen Agirrezabala (2000-12-26) 26 December 2000 (age 23) 8 0 Spain Athletic Bilbao
23 1GK Leo Román (2000-07-06) 6 July 2000 (age 23) 2 0 Spain Mallorca
2 2DF Víctor Gómez (2000-04-01) 1 April 2000 (age 24) 11 1 Portugal Braga
3 2DF Juan Miranda (2000-01-19) 19 January 2000 (age 24) 23 5 Spain Betis
5 2DF Jon Pacheco (2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 (age 23) 14 0 Spain Real Sociedad
12 2DF Arnau Martínez (2003-04-25) 25 April 2003 (age 21) 9 0 Spain Girona
14 2DF Aitor Paredes (2000-04-29) 29 April 2000 (age 24) 6 0 Spain Athletic Bilbao
15 2DF Mario Gila (2000-08-29) 29 August 2000 (age 23) 9 0 Italy Lazio
17 2DF Sergio Gómez (2000-09-04) 4 September 2000 (age 23) 17 9 England Manchester City
20 2DF Manu Sánchez (2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 (age 23) 10 3 Spain Osasuna
4 3MF Hugo Guillamón (2000-01-31) 31 January 2000 (age 24) 17 3 Spain Valencia
6 3MF Antonio Blanco (2000-07-23) 23 July 2000 (age 23) 12 1 Spain Alavés
8 3MF Oihan Sancet (2000-04-25) 25 April 2000 (age 24) 12 1 Spain Athletic Bilbao
10 3MF Rodri Sánchez (2000-05-16) 16 May 2000 (age 23) 17 3 Spain Betis
16 3MF Álex Baena (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 22) 11 2 Spain Villarreal
18 3MF Gabri Veiga (2002-05-27) 27 May 2002 (age 21) 7 0 Spain Celta Vigo
19 3MF Aimar Oroz (2001-11-27) 27 November 2001 (age 22) 8 2 Spain Osasuna
22 3MF Adrián Bernabé (2001-05-26) 26 May 2001 (age 22) 5 0 Italy Parma
7 4FW Rodrigo Riquelme (2000-04-02) 2 April 2000 (age 24) 13 5 Spain Girona
9 4FW Abel Ruiz (2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 (age 24) 26 13 Portugal Braga
11 4FW Ander Barrenetxea (2001-12-27) 27 December 2001 (age 22) 12 1 Spain Real Sociedad
21 4FW Sergio Camello (2001-02-10) 10 February 2001 (age 23) 13 0 Spain Rayo Vallecano

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months are still eligible for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Alejandro Francés (2002-08-01) 1 August 2002 (age 21) 10 1 Spain Zaragoza v.  Mexico, 13 June 2023
DF Miguel Gutiérrez (2001-07-27) 27 July 2001 (age 22) 2 0 Spain Girona v.  Mexico, 13 June 2023
DF Alejandro Balde (2003-10-18) 18 October 2003 (age 20) 2 0 Spain Barcelona v.  Japan, 18 November 2022
MF Nico González (2002-01-03) 3 January 2002 (age 22) 9 0 Spain Valencia v.  Mexico, 13 June 2023
MF Pablo Barrios (2003-06-15) 15 June 2003 (age 20) 0 0 Spain Atlético Madrid v.  France, 28 March 2023
MF Beñat Turrientes (2002-01-31) 31 January 2002 (age 22) 11 2 Spain Real Sociedad v.  Japan, 18 November 2022
MF Pablo Torre (2003-04-03) 3 April 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Spain Barcelona v.  Japan, 18 November 2022
MF Robert Navarro (2002-04-12) 12 April 2002 (age 22) 3 3 Spain Real Sociedad v.  Malta, 7 June 2022
FW Juanmi Latasa (2001-03-23) 23 March 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Spain Getafe v.  Mexico, 13 June 2023
FW Hugo Novoa (2003-01-24) 24 January 2003 (age 21) 4 1 Switzerland Basel v.  Japan, 18 November 2022

Former squads

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ "La sub 21 regresa al lugar donde nació el 'tiqui-taca'" [The under-21 team returns to the birthplace of tiki-taka] (in Spanish). Marca. 9 June 2011.
  2. ^ "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions". FIFA. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  3. ^ UEFA.com (2022-02-28). "FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  4. ^ "UEFA decisions for upcoming competitions relating to the ongoing suspension of Russian national teams and clubs". uefa.com. UEFA. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Uefa announces further sanctions on Russian clubs and national teams amid Ukraine invasion". BBC Sport. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.

External links

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