Spain national under-21 football 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),[1] competes in the biennial UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Spain U-21
Nickname(s)La Rojita (The Little Red One)
La Furia Roja (the red fury)
AssociationRoyal Spanish Football Federation
(Real Federación Española de Fútbol – RFEF)
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
Silver medal – second place 2023 Georgia–Romania Team
Bronze medal – third place 1994 France Team
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Slovakia Team
The 2011 winning team

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
1978Qualifying Stage420258
1980Qualifying Stage412142
1982Quarter-Finals6501145
1984Runners-up105231111
1986Champions10712189
1988Quarter-Finals8422104
1990Quarter-Finals640254
1992Qualifying Stage732265
France 1994Third Place12921219
Spain 1996Runners-up1410313414
Romania 1998Champions111010216
Slovakia 2000Third Place141130317
Switzerland 2002Qualification Playoffs10613159
Germany 2004Qualification Playoffs10622175
Portugal 2006Qualifying Stage10622378
Netherlands 2007Qualification Playoffs421184
Sweden 2009Group Stage131012277
Denmark 2011Champions151221318
Israel 2013Champions151410475
Czech Republic 2015Qualification Playoffs10721258
Poland 2017Runners-up1511224312
Italy 2019Champions1513024516
HungarySlovenia 2021Semifinals151221273
RomaniaGeorgia (country) 2023Runners-up1312115010
Slovakia 2025To be determined
Total15/232381703434502169

*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
1Gerard DeulofeuBarcelona, Everton, Sevilla, Milan2012–201736
2Borja MayoralReal Madrid, VfL Wolfsburg, Levante2015–201931
 Jorge MeréSporting Gijón, FC Köln2015–201931
 Iker MuniainAthletic Bilbao2011–201431
5Dani CeballosBetis, Real Madrid2015–201929
6Santi DeniaAlbacete, Atlético Madrid1992–199627
 David de GeaAtlético Madrid, Manchester United2009–201327
8Diego CapelSevilla2007–201125
 Mikel OyarzabalReal Sociedad2017–201925
 SaúlAtlético Madrid, Rayo Vallecano2013–201725
 XaviBarcelona1998–200125

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
1Gerard DeulofeuBarcelona, Everton, Sevilla, Milan2012–201717
2Borja MayoralReal Madrid, VfL Wolfsburg, Levante2015–201916
3RodrigoBenfica2011–201315
4IscoMálaga, Real Madrid2011–201414
5Álvaro MorataReal Madrid, Juventus2013–201413
6ÓscarBarcelona, Albacete1992–199612
7MunirBarcelona2014–201610
8Pablo CouñagoCelta, Recreativo, Ipswich Town1999–20019
 AdriánDeportivo, Alavés, Málaga, Atlético Madrid2007–20119
 SaúlAtlético Madrid, Rayo Vallecano2013–20179

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 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'
8 July 2023 2023 UEFA U-21 Batumi, Georgia  England 0–1
8 September 2023 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification Paola, Malta  Malta 6–0 Diego López 5', Gabri Veiga 14', 18', Ilias 49', Pablo Torre 70', Turrientes 88'
11 September 2023 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification Jaén, Spain  Scotland 1–0 Turrientes 83'
13 October 2023 Friendly Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Uzbekistan 0–0
17 October 2023 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification Astana, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan 4–0 Fermín López 11', Diego López 54', Fran Pérez 56', Omorodion 90'
17 November 2023 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification Huelva, Spain  Hungary 2–0 Carlos Martín 36', Pablo Torre 67'
21 November 2023 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification Leuven, Belgium  Belgium 1–1 Omorodion 66'
21 March 2024 Friendly Jerez, Spain  Slovakia 0–2
26 March 2024 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification Almería, Spain  Belgium 1–0 Joseph 88'

Forthcoming fixtures
Date Competition Location Opponent

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Group phase
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 6 5 1 0 15 1 +14 16 Final tournament — 1–0 1–0 2–0 10 Oct '24 15 Oct '24
2  Scotland 6 4 1 1 11 4 +7 13 Play-offs 6 Sep '24 — 11 Oct '24 3–1 4–1 2–1
3  Belgium 7 4 1 2 8 5 +3 13 1–1 0–2 — 15 Oct '24 1–0 3–1
4  Hungary 7 3 1 3 9 6 +3 10 10 Sep '24 0–0 0–1 — 2–0 10 Oct '24
5  Kazakhstan (Y) 6 1 0 5 3 14 −11 3 0–4 15 Oct '24 10 Sep '24 0–3 — 5 Sep '24
6  Malta (E) 6 0 0 6 2 18 −16 0 0–6 10 Sep '24 0–2 0–3 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 26 March 2024. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly, but may still qualify through play-offs

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for a friendly against Slovakia and a 2025 UEFA U-21 qualification match against Belgium.[2][3]

Caps and goals as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Belgium.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
23 1GK Pablo Cuñat (2002-04-28) 28 April 2002 5 0 Spain Amorebieta
1 1GK Alejandro Iturbe (2003-09-02) 2 September 2003 3 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
13 1GK Álvaro Aceves (2003-07-26) 26 July 2003 2 0 Spain Eldense
5 2DF Alejandro Francés (2002-08-01) 1 August 2002 17 1 Spain Zaragoza
2 2DF Hugo Novoa (2003-01-24) 24 January 2003 12 1 Spain Villarreal
4 2DF Rafa Marín (2002-05-19) 19 May 2002 7 0 Spain Alavés
15 2DF Álvaro Carreras (2003-03-23) 23 March 2003 7 0 Portugal Benfica
14 2DF Dean Huijsen (2005-04-14) 14 April 2005 2 0 Italy Roma
19 2DF Javi López (2002-03-25) 25 March 2002 1 0 Spain Alavés
3 2DF Cristhian Mosquera (2004-06-27) 27 June 2004 2 0 Spain Valencia
18 2DF Marc Pubill (2003-06-20) 20 June 2003 2 0 Spain Almería
8 3MF Beñat Turrientes (captain) (2002-01-31) 31 January 2002 19 4 Spain Real Sociedad
16 3MF Pablo Torre (2003-04-03) 3 April 2003 9 2 Spain Girona
17 3MF Pablo Barrios (2003-06-15) 15 June 2003 8 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
6 3MF Javi Guerra (2003-05-13) 13 May 2003 8 0 Spain Valencia
10 3MF Fermín López (2003-05-11) 11 May 2003 6 1 Spain Barcelona
22 3MF Unai Gómez (2003-05-25) 25 May 2003 1 0 Spain Athletic Bilbao
7 4FW Diego López (2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 8 2 Spain Valencia
20 4FW Samu Omorodion (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 7 2 Spain Alavés
21 4FW Fran Pérez (2002-09-09) 9 September 2002 7 1 Spain Valencia
11 4FW Robert Navarro (2002-04-12) 12 April 2002 6 3 Spain Cádiz
12 4FW Alberto Moleiro (2003-09-30) 30 September 2003 4 0 Spain Las Palmas
9 4FW Mateo Joseph (2003-10-19) 19 October 2003 2 1 England Leeds United

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 Arnau Martínez (2003-04-25) 25 April 2003 12 0 Spain Girona v.  Belgium, 21 November 2023
DF David Torres (2003-03-05) 5 March 2003 1 0 Spain Valladolid v.  Belgium, 21 November 2023
DF Juanlu Sánchez (2003-08-15) 15 August 2003 1 0 Spain Sevilla v.  Belgium, 21 November 2023
DF Hugo Bueno (2002-09-18) 18 September 2002 1 0 England Wolverhampton Wanderers v.  Scotland, 11 September 2023
DF Álvaro Carrillo (2002-04-06) 6 April 2002 0 0 Spain Real Madrid v.  Scotland, 11 September 2023
MF Nico González (2002-01-03) 3 January 2002 9 0 Portugal Porto v.  Slovakia, 21 March 2024
MF Gabri Veiga (2002-05-27) 27 May 2002 13 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli v.  Belgium, 21 November 2023
MF Iker Muñoz (2002-11-05) 5 November 2002 2 0 Spain Osasuna v.  Kazakhstan, 17 October 2023
MF Stefan Bajčetić (2004-10-22) 22 October 2004 1 0 England Liverpool v.  Scotland, 11 September 2023
FW Carlos Martín (2002-04-22) 22 April 2002 4 1 Spain Mirandés v.  Belgium, 21 November 2023
FW Assane Diao (2005-09-07) 7 September 2005 4 0 Spain Betis v.  Belgium, 21 November 2023
FW Iván Azón (2002-12-24) 24 December 2002 2 0 Spain Real Zaragoza v.  Scotland, 11 September 2023

Honours

Titles

Former squads
  • 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain
  • 1994 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads – Spain

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. "Convocatoria para los partidos frente a Eslovaquia y Bélgica" (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Fútbol. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
    3. "Pablo Torre sustituye por lesión a Nico González para los partidos frente a Eslovaquia y Bélgica" (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Fútbol. 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
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