REAL MADRID | ASENSIO THE BEST U-21 PLAYER IN WORLD SOCCER

World recognized French Football & Sports daily, L´Equipe, has published their Top 50 U-21 Best Football Players in World Soccer. Real Madrid & Spanish International MARCO ASENSIO has been recognised as the Nº1 U-21 World Football Player.

The top 10 list by L´Equipe is:

1.Marco Asensio (ESP/Real Madrid) 

2.Dele Alli (ANG/Tottenham)

3.Kylian Mbappé (FRA/PSG)

4.Ousmane Dembélé (FRA/FC Barcelona)

5.Gianluigi Donnarumma (ITA/AC Milan)

6.Gabriel Jesus (BRA/Manchester City)

7.Leroy Sané (ALL/Manchester City)

8.Kingsley Coman (FRA/Bayern Munich)

9.Marcus Rashford (ANG/Manchester United)


10.Timo Werner (ALL/RB Leipzig).

The other Spanish born U-21 Football players in the Top 50 list are:

Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid) in the Nº 15 position, Vallejo (Real Madrid) follows in Nº 31, Carlos Soler at Nº 40 & Oyarzabal at Nº44.
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SPAIN 3 - ITALY 0 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY MATCH

The Spanish National U-21 team managed to get back at Italy in tonights Friendly International played in Toledo (Spain). Spain defeated Italy 3 - 0 with the recent memory of the last U-21 European Championship Final where Italy beat Spain & took the title.

The starting 11 for Spain:

Spain has new "blood" in their squad as they gear up for the next U-21 Euros to be held in Italy. The new comers did magnificently & Spain basically dominated events with the Italians creating some goal opportunities that were well handled by Spanish goalkeeper & defence. Deserved victory for Spain.

Goals:
22' Goooooalllllll Spain by Mikel Merino
45' Gooooooallllll Spain. Goooooalllll by Borja Mayoral.
81' Gooooalllllllll Spain. Gooooooooalllllll by Jorge Meré (header).

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WHO IS MUNIR EL HADDADI ?

Who is MUNIR EL HADDADI? Three months back the only people who could have answered this were those involved with FC Barcelona & its "B Team". Today the 19 year old Football player is known all over Spain, branded a new Football promise & has been called up by Spanish Football National Team Selector & Coach Vicente Del Bosque to fill the place left vacant by "injured" Diego Costa.

But who is Munir? Munir El Haddadi Mohamed is a Moroccan descendent born 19 years ago in "El Escorial" (Madrid, Spain). The player has risen up from the junior ranks attracting the attention of Real Madrid & Atletico de Madrid, but finally decided to go to FC Barcelona & build his Soccer career in the "B Team". 

His future radically changed when new FC Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique called up Munir to do pre-season with the "A Team" & allowed the player to prove himself with some pre-season matches. Munir took his opportunity to score goals & impress Club & Football observers. The player then surprised being included in the starting 11 of FC Barcelona in their Round 1 Liga game were he scored. From here Munir has rose to "stardom" being called up to the Spanish U-21 Team & now to the Spanish National Team. 

Although we are all happy for the youngster, the rapid rise has caused some eyebrows to lift. Munir - with double nationality Spanish/Moroccan - has said that he wished to play with Morocco, but this speech has slowly changed in favour of Spain. Some Football observers suspect that Spain Selector & Coach Vicente de Bosque has called up Munir to give the player some "official" International Football minutes against Macedonia next week (Euro 2016 qualifier) to SHUT the "Moroccan Door". This way Spain secures the young promise. 

But is Munir ready? Is he the answer & solution to Spain´s goal problem? No. The reason for the Munir call up is for the apparent injury to Diego Costa, an injury not seen at all in training which raises questions. Munir put in an "average" performance with the U-21 Spanish Team against Hungary last week which was not enough to justify a call up. Lastly, there are a number of other forwards that deserve a call up & may actual solve the teams lack of goal creating opportunities, namely ADURIZ & FERNANDO LLORENTE. With the last, rumour has it that Del Bosque has a "personal" thing with Llorente. 

In any case, what also concerns some observers his the rapid rocket rise to fame of Munir. Some fear that Munir could be a "flash in the pan" & that when Luis Suarez returns to Football at the end of October, Munir could be spending more time on the bench, or at worst back to the "B Team". Others believe the Club may "hype up" Munir for a later multi-million sale-transfer operation.  In either case, Munir is in a delicate crossroads situation that could break or make his future. Many young stars before him ( e.g. Bojan) were destined for big things & were left on the rails. 

Stay tuned!

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SPAIN 2 GERMANY 0 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY RESULT

The Spanish Football U-21 National Team played Germany tonight & won 2 - 0. Great exhibition from the young Spaniards, especially in the second half, scoring both goals. The Germans were no "easy ride" & showed their worth in the first half but the ball possesion & individual skills of the Spanish U- 21 edged them out. Intense encounter for an International Friendly that entertained the spectators with a brilliant Isco leading the way. Goals for Spain from Morata in the 52nd min after a bad German goalie mistake & Isco with a "long range" shot in the 54th min

Just some facts about this Spanish U-21 Team:

• Athletic Club Bilbao player Muniain becomes the most capped U-21 Spanish player in history
• Derik & Denis Suarez debuted tonight
• 33 straight games without a loss, the last 15 win victory results
• In Septembre, when the competition gets back on rails, it would be 5 years since the Spanish U-21 team lost a game

Amazing feat from the next generation of Spanish Football players some who are already starring with their Clubs & are regular players in the Spanish Liga.

Game details:
SPAIN 2: Pacheco (Kepa, min.46); Carvajal, Amat, Sergi Gómez (Derik, min.46) Alberto Moreno (Bernat, min.24); Pardo (Suárez, min.79), Sergi Roberto (Saúl, min.46), Isco, Muniain (Sarabia, min.59), Jesé (Deulofeu, min.46); Morata.

GERMANY 0: Leno; Rüdiger, Knoche, Plattenhardt (Schulz, min.46), Korb (Durm, min.46); Geis, Emre Can (Leitner, min.35), Hoffman, Younes (Malli, min.66) Bittencourt & Volland (Hoffmann, min.46).

GOALS: 1-0, min.52, Morata. 2-0, min.54, Isco.

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FOOTBALL | LIST OF 40 CANDIDATES "GOLDEN BOY AWARD" FOR U-21

Italian media "Tuttosport", which hands the "Golden Boy Football Award" - the equivalent of the FIFA Golden Ball for U-21 players - , handed in its 40 candidates for this year. Last year the winner was Spanish International & Real Madrid midfielder Isco.

This year two Spanish U-21 Internationals are on the list: Oliver ( At.Madrid ) & Jese Rodriguez ( Real Madrid ). The favourite is Juventus & French International Pogba who won the FIFA U-20 World Cup & starring in Italy.

Full list of 40 Candidates:

Boakye (Ghana/Elche)

Bruma (Portugal/Galtasaray)

Can (Germany/Bayer Leverkusen)

Cristóforo (Uruguay/Sevilla)

Digne (France/PSG)

Draxler (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)

Ferreira Carrasco (Bélgium/Mónaco)

Fischer (Denmark/Ajax)

Fred (Brazil/Shakhtar Donetsk)

Gnabry (Germany/Arsenal)

Icardi (Argentina/Inter)

Iturbe (Argentina/Verona)

Januzaj (Bélgium/Manchester United)

Jesé (Spain/Real Madrid)

Kondogbia (France/Mónaco)

Kovacic (Croatia/Inter)

Laxalt (Uruguay/Bolonia)

López (Uruguay/Udinese)

Lukaku (Bélgium/Everton)

Maher (Holland/PSV Eindhoven)

Markovic (Serbia/Benfica)

Marquinhos (Brazil/PSG)

Mitrovic (Serbia/Anderlecht)

Nastasic (Serbia/Manchester City)

Niang (France/Milán)

Omeruo (Nigeria/Chelsea)

Chamberlain (England/Arsenal)

Perea (Colombia/Lazio)

Pogba (France/Juventus)

Quintero (Colombia/Oporto)

Radosevic (Croatia/Nápoles)

Rafinha (Brazil/Celta)

Rebic (Croatia/Fiorentina)

Sanogo (France/Arsenal)

Thauvin (France/Olympique de Marsella)

Tiago Ilori (Portugal/Liverpool)

Óliver Torres (Spain/Atlético)

Varane (France/Real Madrid)

Vilhena (Holland/Feyenoord)

Vitinho (Brazil/CSKA)

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ITALY 2 SPAIN 4 | UEFA U - 21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT

The Spanish U-21 National Football Team has won the UEFA U-21 European Championship held in Israel after defeating Italy 2 - 4 in the Final. This a a back to back Final win as they were reigning European Champions coming into this tournament. The Spanish youngsters demonstrated that Spanish Football has a great future, that there are plenty of top class players in the pipeline & that some will be soon knocking at the door of the absolute Spanish Team, if not already.

Spain U-21 starting XI vs Italy in the Final

The above Spanish U-21 Football Players deserved the victory as they were much better than the Italians today. Italy had their moments & showed that they too have quality & why they were finalists, but in the end the quality of the Spanish team was superior.

Thiago

FC Barcelona & Spanish U-21 Captain THIAGO scored a HAT-TRICK & was the protagonist of this Final. This was his last game for the U-21 team as he passes the age limit & put in a match to be remembered as part of his personal finale. Goals in the 5th min with a header, in the 30th min with a penalty & in the 37th min set Spain sailing. 

If Thiago was a signing target this summer his value would have increased after todays game & would have certainly convinced English giants Manchester United to take the leap & go finally after the player who has only a 18M€ contract release clause. 

The other Spanish U-21 star ISCO ( the tournament MVP )also put in his grain of salt again with a goal in the 66th min from the penalty spot. This player is all the rage in European Football with Real Madrid & Manchester City in a tug-of-war to sign the man. The English side is at this moment in the front seat. 

Other players to mention are Real Madrid player Morata ( the Tournament Top Scorer ) who set up the first goal with a superb play & pass to find Thiago, Manchester United goalie David De Gea who although saw two balls pass him into the net made a couple of great saves in this match, Atletico de Madrid midfielder Koke was solid all tournament, FC Barcelona player Tello quick & dangerous & team-mates & defenders Bartra & Montayo excellent, Iñigo, Alberto, Illarramendi... all the squad players did their part, it was a real team effort.

The Italians scored twice & both goals were of excellent quality & class. Inmobile scored in the 9th min with elegance & Borini executed a power driver in the 79 th min that was surgically precise to find the bar out of reach for De Gea. 

Congratulations to the U-21 Spanish Football team.

Match details:

Italy 2: Bardi; Donati, Bianchetti, Caldirola, Regini; Florenzi (Saponara, 58’), Rossi, Verratti (Crimi, 76’), Insigne; Borini & Inmobile (Gabbiadini, 58’)

Spain 4: De Gea; Montoya, Bartra, Íñigo, Alberto; Koke (Camacho, 86’), Illarramendi, Thiago; Tello (Muniain, 70’), Morata (Rodrigo, 80’) y Isco.


Goals: 0-1 (7’) Thiago. 1-1 (10’) Inmobile. 1-2 (31’) Thiago. 1-3 (38’) Thiago. 1-4 (66’) Isco. 2-4 (80’) Borini.

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SPAIN 3 RUSSIA 1 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

The Spanish National U-21 Football Team managed to turn around their International Friendly warm-up game against Russia winning 3 - 1. This was the last "dress rehearsal" for Spain before the upcoming European U-21 Championships in June.

A very competitive Russian team gave a great workout for the Spaniards that sway the balance their way in the second half with goals from Muniain & Thiago. Earlier in the 1ºst half Rodrigo opened that scoring for Spain but Yakolev equalized just minutes into the second half after a bad mistake by Spanish goalie Mariño. 

Match starting line-ups & details:

Spain: Mariño; Montoya, Bartra (Amat, 73’), Nacho (Íñigo Martínez, 55’), Alberto (Muniesa, 73’); Camacho (Illarra, 46’), Thiago; Deulofeu (Muniain, 46’), Canales (Koke, 55’), Sarabia (Tello, 46’); & Rodrigo (Álvaro Vázquez, 55’)

Russia: Zabolotny (Filtsov, 55’); Tsallagov, Chicherin, Burlak, Schennikov; Zotov, Petrov, Kirillov (Sosnin, 67’); Yakovlev, Kanunnikov (Bezlikhotnov, 84’) & Cheryshev (Panyukov, 46’) .

Goals: 1-0 (38’) Rodrigo. 1-1 (49’) Yakovlev 2-1 (70’) Muniain. 3-1 (92'+) Thiago (p.)

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EURO U-21 FRIENDLY | SPAIN 5 NORWAY 2

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

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EURO U- 21 | BELGIUM 1 - SPAIN 1

The magnificent SPANISH U-21 FOOTBALL TEAM that won the 2012 European Championship have grown old, that is, passed the age limit. SPAIN has had to "replace" & renew the U-21 team with the youngsters knocking at the door for International exposure.
SPAIN played tonight BELGIUM away in an International Friendly the ended in a 1 - 1 , but the sensations were very good & young Spanish Footballer GRIMALDO made his debut with just 17 years of age. Along with him, young Atletico de Madrid promise Oliver Torres also got a run. 

An even match with chances to both teams, Spain got ahead first via Barça sensation DELOFEU in the 28th min. Belgium fought back & equalized in the 42 min via VAN DER BRUGGEN.

BELGIUM 1
Casteels, Cisse, Arslanagic, Heyleen, Verboom, Malanda-Adje, Vetokele, Van der Bruggen, Batshuayi, Praet y Mpoku Ebunge. También jugaron: Thorgan Hazard & Jordan Lukaku.

SPAIN 1
Kepa (Sotres, m.46), Carvajal, Sergi Gómez, Amat (Oliver Torres, m.57), Aurtenetxe (Saul, m.46), Pardo, Obiang (Grimaldo, m.46), Suso (Ignasi Miquel, m.57), Deulofeu, Sarabia (Luis Alberto, m.66) & Alcácer (Bernat, m.66).

GOALS:
0-1, m.28: Delofeu; 1-1, m.42: Van Der Bruggen

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EUROPEAN FOOTBALL U-21 | ITALY 1 - SPAIN 3

Friendly International match at U-21 level between ITALY & SPAIN. The Spaniards managed to win away 1 - 3 in a good performance that keeps the tension & form up for the upcoming official games. The current European U-21 Champions managed their goals thanks to RODRIGO, DELOFEU & ALVARO VAZQUEZ.

Isco

Match details:

Italy 1: Bardi, De Sciglio, Capuano (Romagnoni, m.70),Caldirola, Frascatore, Marrone (Baselli, m.70), Sala (Sansone,m.15), Crisetig, Saponara (Donati, m.44), Immobile & De Luca (Longo,m.46).

Spain 3: Mariño, Carvajal (Tello, m.59), Bartra, Íñigo Martínez (Nacho, m.46), Aurtenetxe, Oriol Romeu (Sergi Roberto,m.82), Koke (Illarramendi, m.46), Deulofeu (Álvaro Vázquez, m.59),Isco (Suso, m.82), Sarabia (Muniaín, m.79) & Rodrigo (Hugo Mallo,m.59).

Goals: 0-1, m.19: Rodrigo; 0-2, m.34: Delofeu; 1-2, m.56: Longo.1-3, m.92: Álvaro Vázquez.

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EURO U - 21 | SPAIN 6 CROATIA 0

SPAIN U-21 TEAM defeated CROATIA 6 - 0 in their PRE-EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS match. The Spanish U-21 squad wishes to forget the London Olympic Games failure as soon as possible & looks forward to the upcoming U-21 Euros to win back some pride.

Spain U-21

Details:

SPAIN 6: Mariño; Montoya (Bartra, m.62), Amat, Nacho, Planas, Illarramendi, Sergi Roberto, Isco, Deulofeu (Tello, m.62), Sarabia (Rodrigo, m.70) & Álvaro.

CROATIA 0: Sluga; Vrsaljko, Ticinovic, Zuparic, Bubnjic, Saric, Paurevic, Situm (Galovic, m.41), Rebic (Budimir, m.46), Kramaric & Culina (Leskovic, m.70).

GOALS: 1-0. Min.2: Sarabia. 2-0. Min.9: Deulofeu. 3-0. Min.16: Álvaro. 4-0. Min.33: Isco. 5-0. Min.37: Montoya. 6-0. Min.80: Álvaro Tweet

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OLYMPICS 2012 | SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM U-21 LIST

SPANISH NATIONAL U-21 FOOTBALL TEAM Coach Luis Milla has handed in today his list of 22 players that will represent SPAIN in the upcoming London Olympic Games. The 
current U-21 squad is the reigning European Champions & is full of top World class
players who are regular members of European elite Clubs.


Three in the list have recently been crowed "European Champions" after participating 
in the EURO 2012 competition: JUAN MATA , JAVI MARTINEZ & JORDI ALBA whom come in to add their talent & experience to the Olympic squad.


On paper the Spanish Olympic Team looks strong.

Juan Mata

Here is the full list of 22 players & their respective Clubs:


Athetic Club: Mikel San José, Javi Martínez, Ander Herrera & Iker Muniain.
Atlético de Madrid: Jorge Resurrección 'Koke', Joel & Adrián.
FC Barcelona: Montoya, Thiago Alcantara, Jordi Alba & Tello.
Benfica: Rodrigo.
Borussia Möchengladbach: Álvaro Domínguez.
Chelsea: Oriol Romeu & Mata.
Espanyol: Álvaro Vázquez.
Málaga: Francisco Román 'Isco'
Manchester United: David De Gea.
Olympique de Marsella: Cesar Azpilicueta.
Real Sociedad: Iñigo Martínez.
Sporting de Gijón: Alberto Botía.
Villarreal: Diego Mariño.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL DOMINATES "GOLDEN BOY U-21 AWARD" CANDIDATES

The list of candidates that will opt for this years "GOLDEN BOY AWARD" has been handed in with a clear SPANISH FOOTBALL flavour. The Award has a "peculiar" title but is no less prestigious as it its the equivalente to the "FIFA GOLDEN BALL AWARD",  but in this case for Under-21 players.

The Spanish National players are Thiago Alcantara, Muniain, Oriol, Alvaro Vazquez, Rodrigo, Sergio Canales & Dani Pacheco, while other non-Spanish youngsters elected as candidates, & playing in Spanish Football are Varane, Courtois & Griezmann. According to some media sources the favourite is THIAGO ALCANTARA (FC Barcelona).

Thiago

Here is the full list of candidates: name, country & club:


David Alaba AUS Bayern
Álvaro Vázquez SP Espanyol
Jordan Ayew GHA Ol. Marsella
Fabio Borini ITA Roma
Joel Campbell CSR Lorient
Sergio Canales SP Valencia
Thibaut Courtois BEL Atlético
P. Coutinho BRA Inter
E. P. Dudú BRA Dinamo Kiev
Lorenzo Ebecilio HOL Ajax
S. El Shaarawy ITA Milan
Christian Eriksen DIN Ajax
Mario Götze GER Bor. Dortmund
Clement Grenier FRA Ol. Lyon
A. Griezmann FRA Real Sociedad
Eden Hazard BEL Lille
Philip Jones ENG Man. United
Sergei Kryvtsov UCR Shakhtar D.
A. Lacazette FRA Ol. Lyon
Adem Ljajic SER Fiorentina
Romelu Lukaku BEL Chelsea
Eliaquim Mangala FRA Oporto
Alex Merkel ALE-KAZ Genoa
Iker Muniain SP Athletic Club
Miguel Nelson POR Benfica
Joel Obi NIG Inter
O. Chamberlain ING Arsenal
Dani Pacheco SP Rayo Vallecano.
Rodrigo Moreno SP Benfica
James Rodríguez COL Oporto
Jack Rodwell ENG Everton
Oriol Romeu SP Chelsea
Davide Santon ITA Newcastle
Stefan Savic MON Man. City
Georgi Sennikov RUS CSKA Moscú
Xherdan Shaqiri SUI Basilea
Thiago Alcantara SP Barcelona
Raphael Varane FRA Real Madrid
Jack Wilshere ENG Arsenal
Granit Xhaka SUI Basilea
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EURO U - 21 GROUP 5 QUALIFIER | CROATIA 0 SPAIN 2

European U-21 Football action tonight with Group qualifiers with the SPANISH U-21 FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM playing CROATIA away & winning 0 - 2. It is Spains third straight Group 5 victory that gives them 9 points & 9 goals.The qualifiers are for the 2013 European Championship Finals places & Spain is currently in a privileged position.

The Spanish side dominated most of the game with touch Football & when the spaces appeared they took full advantage with goals from KOKE & RODRIGO.

Tomorrow the "seniors" (Spanish A-side) & current World Champions go on stage in Prague against the Czech Rep in their Euro Group qualifier.

Spanish U-21 Football player Muniain

Details:

Croatia - 0: Kalinic; Antolic, Pavlovic, Kelic, Zuparic; Situm, Brozovic (Kukoc, m. 70), Puncec (Vujcevic, m. 46), Cop; Kovacic & Vukusic (Lendric, m. 58).


Spain - 2: De Gea; Martín Montoya, Amat, Íñigo Martínez, Planas; Oriol Romeu, Koke; Canales (Pacheco, m. 87), Isco (Juan Carlos, m. 73), Muniaín; & Rodrigo (Álvaro Vázquez, m. 79).


Goals: 0-1, m. 18: Koke. 0-2, m. 57: Rodrigo.

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SPAIN 2 - GEORGIA 0 | EURO U - 21 GROUP 5 QUALIFIER

Good night for the SPANISH FOOTBALL U-21 NATIONAL TEAM with a 2 - 0 victory against GEORGIA. If you can remember Spain defeated a few days back Georgia away 2 - 7. Here is a very brief summary.

Sergio Canales

The young SERGIO CANALES, the newly signed Valencia CF midfielder, starred with two goals in Spain's victory in the second qualifying match for Euro U- 21 Championships to be held in Israel (2013).


The Spanish Football player Sergio Canales scored his first via a penalty in the 16th minute after team-mate Muniain was fouled in the penalty area. The second goal came in the 78th min with a crossed shot that beat Georgian keeper Tarkhnishvili. Spain, with two victories & 6 points, leads the qualifying Group 5 with Switzerland in second place with four points.


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EURO U - 21 FINAL 2011 | THIAGO GOAL AGAINST SWITZERLAND

In yesterdays U-21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL, Spanish midfielder & FC Barcelona player THIAGO scored an impressive second goal in the 80th min that sealed the match.


Here is the VIDEO of the Thiago goal for Spain in their 0 - 2 victory over Switzerlamd in the final. Thiago was later named "MVP of the Final".


THIAGO 2º GOAL 2011 FINAL U-21 EURO SPAIN 2 SWITZERLAND 0 Tweet

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