Spain national under-23 football team

Last updated

Spain Olympic
Spanish Olympic Committee logo.svg
Nickname(s) La Roja (The Red One)
La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) [1]
Association Royal Spanish Football Federation
(Real Federación Española de Fútbol – RFEF)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Santi Denia
Most caps Luis Enrique (14)
Top scorer Kiko (7)
FIFA code ESP
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First colours
Kit left arm esp24ao.png
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Second colours
First international
Spain  Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg 5–0 Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
(Barcelona, Spain; 29 January 1967)
Biggest win
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 5–0 Libya  Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg
(El Ejido, Spain; 1 July 2005)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 4–0 Spain  Flag of Spain.svg
(Birmingham, United States; 27 July 1996)
Records for competitive matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances6 (first in 1992 )
Best result Gold medal.svg Gold medalists (1992, 2024)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances4 (first in 1997 )
Best result Gold medal MedGames.svg Gold medalists (2005, 2009, 2018)

The Spain Olympic football team (also known as Spain Under-23, or Spain U-23) represents Spain in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except for the Olympics which allows the men's team up to three overage players. The team is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Having qualified for six Olympic competitions since 1992, Spain has won two gold medals (1992 and 2024) and two silver medals (2000 and 2020).

Contents

History

1920–1988 Summer Olympics

Unlike later tournaments, the Summer Olympics used to be represented by senior or amateur teams. Spain's first participation in the Olympics was in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. Fourteen teams entered the competition which was organized on a knockout basis. Twelve teams entered the first round, with the six winners joining the host nation (Belgium) and France, in the quarter-finals. Czechoslovakia, participating in their first international tournament, cruised to the final, inflicting heavy defeats on Yugoslavia (who played their first ever international match in the competition), Norway, and France. Belgium beat a talented Spain and then the Netherlands on their way to the final. Belgium won the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off in protest during the final, unhappy with the performance of the English referee, John Lewis. The Bergvall System was used to determine second and third places. The beaten quarter-finalists played-off, Spain emerged triumphant overcoming Sweden 2–1 and Italy 2–0. Ordinarily, Spain would then have played the beaten finalists, but Czechoslovakia had been disqualified from the tournament. Spain thus advanced straight to the silver medal match against Holland, beaten in the semi-finals by gold medallists Belgium. Spain won 3–1.

1924 was not as successful, Spain bowed out of competition in the first round after losing to Italy 1–0.

At the 1928 Summer Olympics things would go from good to worse. Spain were, potentially, much to be feared. Defeated once since the last Olympic Games tournament their traditional tournament nerves would handicap them here, a key note that would strike throughout the coming years. The unavoidable loss of their experienced captain Pedro Vallana after their first game, though, would cost them dearly. Spain started with a 7–1 win over Mexico, then a 1–1 draw against Italy which would cause the match to go on a reply. There Spain were eventually eliminating with a 1–7 defeat.

Spain would not compete in another Olympic tournament until the 1968 edition held in Mexico. There the team fielded an under-21 amateur squad and reached the quarter-finals, losing only to the host nation. Meanwhile, communist nations entered their top professional teams using a loophole in the rules.

The team's final two tournaments came in 1976 and 1980, where they failed to make it out of the group stage, being powerless against first teams of the Eastern Bloc.

Debut and Gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics

The football competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics was the first under-23 competition. Spain were awarded a place at the tournament because they were the host nation. Expectations were high for the Spanish team and they did not disappoint: The team was able to win their first gold medal after winning their group stage, defeating long-time rivals Italy in the quarter-finals and lastly Poland in the finals, 3–2.

1996 Summer Olympics

Spain were able to qualify for the following Olympics, managed by then coach Javier Clemente. La Rojita failed to repeat their past success and were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Argentina.

Silver at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney

Spain qualified for their third consecutive tournament in 2000. The squad, managed by head coach Iñaki Sáez, reached their second final but were not able to take gold, losing to Cameroon. Spain had a 2–0 lead at half time but things changed in the second half when an own goal from Iván Amaya (who also missed a penalty), and a goal from Samuel Eto'o five minutes later, levelled the scores at 2–2. The score was unchanged after extra time and the match was decided via penalty shootout, with Spain losing 5–3.

2012 Summer Olympics

After eight years without participation, Spain qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics after winning the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under head coach Luis Milla. They were scheduled to play against Japan, Morocco and Honduras in the group stage. Before the start of the tournament, Spain scheduled three friendly matches against teams that would be competing at the Olympics: The first was a 3–1 victory over Egypt, followed by a 2–0 defeat against Senegal and a 1–0 victory over Mexico five days later. At the Olympics, Spain was eliminated in the group stage after falling shockingly 1–0 to Japan and a controversial loss to Honduras. This was followed by a 0–0 draw to Morocco, forcing Spain's exit from the tournament at the group stage for the first time, and without scoring a single goal. Luis Milla was sacked from both the under-23 and under-21 teams the following day and replaced by Julen Lopetegui.

Silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Tokyo

Spain qualified to the 2020 Olympics after winning the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Six Spanish players: Unai Simón, Pau Torres, Eric García, Pedri, Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo who had participated in the UEFA Euro 2020 played a major role for Spain in the 2020 Olympics under coach Luis de la Fuente. La Rojita reached the final, but they lost 2–1 against Brazil after extra time. [3]

Back to back finalist and Gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics – France

Spain qualified to the 2024 edition of the Olympics as the current U-21 European champions. They entered the competition as one of the heavy favorites to win it. Spain started off their campaign with a 2–1 victory over one of the debutants Uzbekistan, despite a missed Spanish penalty. This was followed by a 3–1 win over the other Olympics debutants Dominican Republic. After securing their place to the quarterfinals, Spain rested some of their key players for the third match against Egypt, which the lost 2–1 thus going to the quarterfinals as the second placed team from their group. In the quarterfinals Spain faced off against the other favorite Japan in what was expected to be a tough match for the Spaniards as Japan had won all their group stage games, and had victory against Argentina (5–2) before the start of the tournament. But this was not to be the case, as the Spaniards ran rampant on their opponents, defeating them 3–0 to advance to the semifinals for a second time in a row. At their semifinal game, they faced Morocco, a team the Spaniards have had somewhat of a problem defeating in recent years and who eliminated Spain in A selection on penalties at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Although they fell behind at half time 1–0 following an opponent's penalty kick, Spain was able to turn the game around, and in dominant fashion defeated their African counterparts 2–1 to advance to their second consecutive final. In the final, they beat hosts France 5-3 after extra time, in a match full of twists and turns.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win  Draw  Lose  Fixture

2024

24 July 2024 Olympic Games GS Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg1–2Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Paris, France
15:00  UTC+2
  • Shomurodov Soccerball shade.svg45+3'
Report
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Attendance: 33,732
Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)
30 July 2024 Olympic Games GS Spain  Flag of Spain.svg1–2Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Bordeaux, France
15:00  UTC+2 Report
Stadium: Stade de Bordeaux
Attendance: 12,180
Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
2 August 2024 Olympic Games QF Japan  Flag of Japan.svg0–3Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Décines-Charpieu, France
17:00  UTC+2 Report
Stadium: Stade de Lyon
Attendance: 19,111
Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)
5 August 2024 Olympic Games SF Morocco  Flag of Morocco.svg1–2Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Marseille, France
18:00  UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Stade de Marseille
Attendance: 59,882
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
9 August 2024 Olympic Games Gold France  Flag of France.svg3–5 (a.e.t.)Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Paris, France
18:00  UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Referee: Ramon Abatti (Brazil)

Records

Most capped players

RankPlayerClub(s)Year(s)U-23 Caps
1 Luis Enrique Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid 1991–199214
2 Mikel Lasa Real Sociedad, Real Madrid 1991–199213
3 Abelardo Sporting Gijón 1991–199212
  Pep Guardiola Barcelona 1991–199212
  Kiko Cádiz 1991–199212
  Roberto Solozábal Atlético Madrid 1991–199212
7 Alfonso Real Madrid 1991–199211
  Eric García Barcelona 2021–202411
  Paco Soler Mallorca 1991–199211
10 Juan Miranda Betis, Bologna 2021–202410

Note:Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-23s.

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClub(s)Year(s)U-23 Goals
1 Kiko Cádiz 1991–19927
2 Alfonso Real Madrid 1991–19926
  Fermín López Barcelona 20246
4 Abelardo Sporting Gijón 1991–19925
  Ramón Vázquez Sevilla 1987–19884
6 Gabri Barcelona 20003
  Luis Enrique Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid 1991–19923
  José Mari Milan 20003
  Mikel Oyarzabal Real Sociedad 20213
  Carles Rexach Condal, Barcelona 1967–19703
  Rafa Mir Wolverhampton 20213
  Vavá Elche 19673

Note:Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-23s.

Players

Current squad

The following players were named to the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics. [4]

Caps and goals as of 9 August 2024, after the match against France.

No.Pos.PlayerDate of birth (age)CapsGoalsClub
11 GK Arnau Tenas (2001-05-30) 30 May 2001 (age 23)50 Flag of France.svg Paris Saint-Germain
131 GK Joan García (2001-05-04) 4 May 2001 (age 23)00 Flag of Spain.svg Espanyol
221 GK Alejandro Iturbe+ (2003-09-02) 2 September 2003 (age 20)10 Flag of Spain.svg Atlético Madrid

22 DF Marc Pubill (2003-06-20) 20 June 2003 (age 21)51 Flag of Spain.svg Almería
32 DF Juan Miranda (2000-01-19) 19 January 2000 (age 24)110 Flag of Italy.svg Bologna
42 DF Eric García (2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 (age 23)120 Flag of Spain.svg Girona
52 DF Pau Cubarsí (2007-01-22) 22 January 2007 (age 17)50 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
122 DF Jon Pacheco (2001-01-08) 8 January 2001 (age 23)40 Flag of Spain.svg Real Sociedad
152 DF Miguel Gutiérrez (2001-07-27) 27 July 2001 (age 23)51 Flag of Spain.svg Girona
192 DF Cristhian Mosquera+ (2004-06-27) 27 June 2004 (age 20)10 Flag of Spain.svg Valencia
202 DF Juanlu+ (2003-08-15) 15 August 2003 (age 20)41 Flag of Spain.svg Sevilla

63 MF Pablo Barrios (2003-06-15) 15 June 2003 (age 21)60 Flag of Spain.svg Atlético Madrid
83 MF Beñat Turrientes (2002-01-31) 31 January 2002 (age 22)60 Flag of Spain.svg Real Sociedad
103 MF Álex Baena* (2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 23)52 Flag of Spain.svg Villarreal
143 MF Aimar Oroz (2001-11-27) 27 November 2001 (age 22)60 Flag of Spain.svg Osasuna
163 MF Adrián Bernabé (2001-05-26) 26 May 2001 (age 23)60 Flag of Italy.svg Parma

74 FW Diego López (2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 (age 22)40 Flag of Spain.svg Valencia
94 FW Abel Ruiz (2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 (age 24)51 Flag of Spain.svg Girona
114 FW Fermín López* (2003-05-11) 11 May 2003 (age 21)66 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
174 FW Sergio Gómez (2000-09-04) 4 September 2000 (age 23)61 Flag of England.svg Manchester City
184 FW Samu Omorodion (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 20)41 Flag of Spain.svg Alavés
214 FW Sergio Camello+ (2001-02-10) 10 February 2001 (age 23)22 Flag of Spain.svg Rayo Vallecano

Players who were also called up for Euro 2024 are marked with asterisk (*).

Reserved players, who will play if there is an injured player during the tournament are marked with cross (+).

Overage players in Olympic Games

TournamentPlayer 1Player 2Player 3
Did not select
Did not select
Juan Mata (MF) Javi Martínez (MF) Adrián López (FW)
Mikel Merino (MF) Dani Ceballos (MF) Marco Asensio (FW)
Juan Miranda (DF) Sergio Gómez (FW) Abel Ruiz (FW)

Honours

Summer Olympics

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Rules (UEFA)
  • 1900–1904: club teams [5] [6]
  • 1908–1988: amateur / youth national teams [note 1] [note 2]
  • 1992: under-23 national teams [6] [7]
  • 1996–present: under-23 national teams (with three 'no age limit' players allowed, after an agreement between FIFA and OIC) [6] [7]
Note
  • No tournament held in 1932
Olympic Games record
YearHostRoundPos.Pld.WDLGFGA
1900 Did not enter
1904
1908
1912
1920 Silver medal 2nd540195
1924 First round17th100101
1928 Quarter-finals6th311199
1936 Withdrew
1948 Did not qualify
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968 Quarter-finals5th421142
1972 Did not qualify
1976 Group stage13th200213
1980 Group stage10th303022
1984 Did not qualify
1988
1992 Gold medal 1st6600142
1996 Quarter-finals6th421157
2000 Silver medal 2nd6411126
2004 Did not qualify
2008
2012 Group stage14th301202
2016 Did not qualify
2020 Silver medal 2nd632195
2024 Gold medal 1st6501168
2028 To be determined
2032
Total2–3–012/28492710128152
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
**Since 1968, Spain has sent its under-23 national team.

UEFA European Under-23 Challenge Cup

This was competed for on a basis similar to a boxing title belt. The holders played a randomly chosen opponent for the championship.

DateWinnersRunners-upVenue
18 June 1969Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

UEFA European Under-23 Championship

YearRoundPldWDLGFGA
1972 Qualifying stage201123
1974 Did not enter
1976
Total0/3201123

Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games record
YearRoundPositionPldWD*LGFGA
Flag of Spain.svg 2005 Gold medalists1st431091
Total1 Gold medal1/1431091

See also

Notes

  1. the 1924 and 1928 editions were co-organised by FIFA) [5] [7]
  2. Countries from Eastern Europe competed with professional players. [7]

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    References

    1. ""La Roja"". 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
    2. Since 1992, squads for football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the senior team.
    3. "Brazil edge Spain in men's Olympic football final thanks to Malcom's magic". Guardian. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
    4. "Esta es la lista para la preparación de los Juegos Olímpicos" [This is the list for the preparation of the Olympic Games] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 26 June 2024.
    5. 1 2 El Fútbol Masculino en los Juegos Olímpicos on AFA.org, 19 July 2021
    6. 1 2 3 Historia del fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos: medallero, palmarés y ganadores by Alberto P. Sierra on As, 20 July 2021
    7. 1 2 3 4 Fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos by José M. Martín, 8 August 2021