EURO 2020 Group qualifiers tonight with NORWAY hosting SPAIN in a must win match for the home team. Spain needed a win to mathematically go through to next years Euro Championships, while Norway needed to not lose to keep alive there options for the second place of the Group. Here is a short summary of events, goalscorers & final result.
Above is the Spain starting XI in the image with the main news being SERGIO RAMOS who becomes the most Capped player in Spanish Football History with 168 International matches overtaking goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The first half was uncomfortable for Spain, which started with ball possession and had a chance through Oyarzabal early on. However, as the match went on & Norway found counter-attacks things got complicated.
Great start for Spain in the 47th min when SAUL scored from long rang. However, as the first half, Norway never gave in & kept fighting to stay alive in the competition. Although Spain defended the long balls bravely with an exceptional ALBIOL, Norway found a penalty in the 93rd min which KING converted to equalize.
Spain is left without direct qualification for the European Championship and will have to wait until Tuesday to see if it obtains the direct passport against Sweden.
FINAL RESULT - NORWAY 1 - SPAIN 1
The road towards the qualification for the upcoming EURO 2020 Champions began for SPAIN tonight with the first match at home against NORWAY in Group F. Here is a short summary of the main events, the goalscorers & the final result.
SPAIN - NORWAY: Euro 2020 Group F Qualifier
Spanish National Team Coach Luis Enrique put in the following starting 11:
David de Gea, Jesus Navas, Sergio Ramos, Íñigo Martinez, Jordi Alba, Parejo, Sergio Busquets, Jesus Ceballos, Marco Asensio, Rodrigo & Alvaro Morata.
Only 5 names survive from the World Cup team: De Gea, Ramos, Alba, Busquets & Asensio.
Later Betis midfielder Sergio Canales & forward Jaime Mata of Getafe debuted as substitutes in the 2º half.
SPAIN won in a worked match 2 - 1 NORWAY. Although Spain dominated most of the match they were overall not at all convincing. Spain creates plenty of goal opportunities but does not manage to score, their effective rate is way below the occasions created by the Team.
Norway, knows their limitations & they also know their strengths sticking to their strategy of defending well, forcing the errors from their opponents, counter-attacking & attempt to exploit their big men upfront with long balls to exploit their heading power. Simple & effective.
This is basically the summary of tonight's match. The Norwegian game plan nearly paid off as they pushed Spain in the latter part of the 2º half. A penalty on Morata was the lifesaver for the locals to pull off the victory & grab the three points.
The 1º st half went to Spain which started well with the habitual ball domination & goal creating opportunities. The first goal came in the 16th min when Valencia CF striker RODRIGO managed to score. With the momentum Spain created numerous clear goal opportunities but Norway Goalie JARSTEIN made important saves & MORATA (along with fellow team-mates) was not able to score. In fact, the Atletico de Madrid forward have up to 6 occasions that where all missed, even though the penalty awarded late to Spain was won by him.The 2º half was more in Norway´s favour & they put up forward some "towers" of forwards to receive the long balls & make things difficult for the Spanish defenders. The plan worked when in the 65th min Norway was awarded a penalty from a free- kick that forced Martinez to foul KING in the area. In was KING himself who converted the penalty to draw the result. Spain was going through its worst moment & things were not looking bright for the locals as the nerves began to settle in throughout the side.
However, a Norwegian defensive error gave Morata the ball & Norway goalie Jarstein had no option but to foul the Spanish forward. Sergio RAMOS took the penalty in the 71st min to score & put Spain back into the match & leading. The worst part for Spain seemed over, as the locals regrouped & began using their heads to keep control of the situation. Norway did have some occasions towards the end that made the crowd hold their breath but Spain managed to hold the 2 - 1 result.
GOALSCORERS:
1 - 0 (16') Rodrigo Moreno
1 - 1 (65') (P.) Joshua King
2 - 1 (71') (P.) Sergio Ramos
FINAL RESULT:
SPAIN 2 - NORWAY 1
Spain manages the victory & the three points but they have to work more upfront to lift their goal conversion rate, as they fail to transform the numerous occasions created into goals to shut their matches.
Spain plays MALTA next Tuesday in their next Group F Euro 2020 match.
European U-21 Football Friendly International played tonight between Spain & Norway with the final result going 2 - 0 to Spain.
Match dominated by Spain from start to finish with long possession Soccer & plenty of shots at goals by the local team. The two goals scored occurred in the 1º st half through Munir in the 16th min & Deulofeu in the 18th min, with this last putting in an exceptional game.
Good "sparring" for Spain as they prepare for the Group qualifiers latter this year in order to attempt to get into the 2017 European U/21 Championships Finals.
Details:
Spain - 2: Kepa; Manquillo, Vallejo, Jonny, Duarte; José Rodríguez, Olíver, Denis Suárez (Moi Gómez, 81'); Deulofeu (Asensio, 86'), Munir (Williams, 63') & Samu Castillejo (Ceballos,
Norway - 1: Sondre; Haralsheid, Holbrather, Gronner, Grogaard; Strand, Lundemo, Overstad (Trondsen, 46'), Fredrik; Gayas & Mohamed (Vegard, 86').
Goals: 1-0 (16') Munir. 2-0 (18') Deulofeu.
The Spanish U-21 Football National Team has won a place in the Final of the UEFA U-21 European Championships being held in Israel win a 3 - 0 victory over Norway in the semi-final. The reigning Euro Champs deserved the win as they were far the superior side although Norway did create opportunities that they could not materialize.
The first half was relatively even with Norway defending & waiting for a counter-attack or for a set play opportunity. However, if you decide to give the ball to Spain this will cause you to run after them & you will tire. The "exhaustion factor" for Norway played its part towards the end of the match. Meanwhile , Norway goalie Nyland kept Spain out with some superb saves but Spanish striker Rodrigo "opened the can" in the 45th+ min.
The second half saw Norway lift in their efforts in order to attempt to find an equalizer. They nearly achieved the objective but missed their chances, plus they began gradually to tire from the physical effort. Spain made some changes to keep the side fresh & put on Munian & Morata (Sarabia in the end)
The sealer came in the 87th min when Isco did his magic in the goal square & scored the second. Brilliant piece of individual work & quick thinking that highlighted why Manchester City & Real Madrid are bidding for the young man. Lastly, Morata scored the third when he broke away & ran into the goal square to shot but managed to get the rebound off the goalkeeper Nyland & slip the ball into an open space that found the net. Superb!
Spain now will meet the winner of the other semi-final currently in play while I write this post, Italy or Holland next Tuesday.
Match details:
SPAIN 3: De Gea; Montoya, Bartra, Íñigo Martínez, Alberto; Illarramendi, Thiago, Koke; Tello (Muniain, 73’), Isco (Sarabia, 89’) & Rodrigo (59’).
NORWAY 0: Nyland; Elabdellaoui, Berge, Strandberg, Hedenstad; Henriksen, Johansen (Berisha, 80’), Eikrem (Nordtveit); Berget, Pedersen & King (Nielsen, 46’).
Goals: 1-0 (45+) Rodrigo 2-0 (87’) Isco. 3-0 (93’) Morata
The U-21 European Championships are just two months away. National U-21 teams are playing friendly matches & one of those celebrated tonight was Spain vs Norway. The final result went to Spain with a strong & convincing victory 5 - 2 over Norway.
Excellent testing for the Spaniards which started on the wrong foot due to a defensive mistake that opened the scoring for Norway in the 1st min. But from there it was Spain all the way with goals from FC Barcelona player Tello with two, Rodrigo & Valencia CF player Sergio Canales who is gradually regaining form after a long period out due to a serious knee injury.
The Spanish youngsters can´t be happier tonight.
Details:
Spain 5: Joel; Montoya, Bartra (Amat, 60’), Íñigo Martínez (Nacho, 54’), Muniesa (Alberto, 69’); Illarramendi (Camacho, 54’), Koke (Deulofeu, 46’), Tello (Sarabia, 60’), Thiago, Muniain (Canales, 54’); & Rodrigo (Álvaro Vázquez, 60’)
Norway 2: Nyland; Linnes, Ronge, Tollas, Skjelvic; Ellabdellaoui, Svensson (Ibrahim, 63’), Singh, Nielsen (Jonasson, 72’); Berget (Borven, 58’) & Pedersen (78’)
Goals: 0-1 (1’) Nielsen. 1-1 (4’) Tello. 2-1 (15’) Tello. 3-1 (34’) Rodrigo. 4-1 (56’) Canales. 5-1 (75’) Tollas, own goal . 5-2 (86’) Kastrati
Spanish Football & Atletico de Madrid has a starting date with the new Football - Soccer season & the Europa League pre-qualifiers after the draw was held this afternoon at UEFA headquarters in Nyon (Switzerland). Atletico will meet Norway Club Stromsgodset in the third round of the pre - qualifying phase. The first away date is the 28th of July at Madrid with the return the 4th of August at Norway.
An unknown team for Atletico de Madrid, & I must say for most Spanish Football followers. This makes the Norweign team particularly dangerous & Atletico must not under-estimate them at any moment, especially so early in the new season.
Good luck to both Clubs.
