Coach Julen Lopetegui has enthused that Spain go into the European Under-21 Championships this summer with a rich pool of talent to choose from.
La Rojita followed up last Thursday’s convincing win over Norway with a 3-1 victory over summer group opponents in Israel, Russia, thanks to goals from Rodrigo, Iker Muniain and Thiago Alcantara.
“We are satisfied with the two wins, because it is always better to prepare for a tournament like the European Championship with two wins over rivals such as Norway and Russia,” commented Lopetegui, looking ahead to the team’s defence of their title in Israel this summer.
“These will reinforce the feelings of the group. The conclusion of these two games is that there are many kids that are ready and we have a large group to choose from.
“We have had these two games to provide as many minutes as possible to each, which was one of the objectives.
“I think that these are two good tests to base the decision on which 23 to take to Israel.
“This Championship will be very difficult, since it is a very tough group that we are in.
“Germany and the Netherlands are going to have great players, due to no international commitments for the senior sides, whilst Russia are also a rival to consider.
“It is too early to tell if we will have players like De Gea and Isco available for Israel, since that decision is down to Del Bosque.
“He will make the decision at the time and the rest of us will be watching. There is much to come before then.”
