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Spain have been knocked out of the European U21 Championships despite a 2-0 victory over Finland in Stockholm.

Goals from Marc Torrejon and Sanchez Pedro Leon ensured their first three points of the tournament but Germany got the point they needed against England in the other group game which made the win immaterial.

The Spanish had come into the tournament as one of the favourites having won all their qualification matches but a 0-0 draw with Germany and a 2-0 defeat to England ensured their fate was out of their own hands.

Spain dominated possession from the start against a limited looking Finnish side but it was not until the 28th minute that they took the lead with Torrejon smashing home a fine shot after Finland had failed to deal with a corner.

The Finnish struggled to deal with balls into the box all evening but Spain could not take full advantage with Newcastle striker Xisco, preferred to Barcelona's Bojan, looking cumbersome up front.

Finland seemed to be edging back into the match in the early stages of the second-half with a few efforts from distance but then Leon curled a fine free-kick over the wall and Finnish keeper Jukka Lehtovaara could only tip it onto to underside of the bar before the ball dropped into the net.

It was harsh luck on Lehtovaara but the stopper, who has trained with West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Fulham in the past, showed his quality before the end as he kept the score down thanks to some superb saves.

Two efforts in particular impressed: one was a magnificent reflex save that pushed over a low and powerful strike from Raul Garcia and the other was fingertip effort that flicked a stinging Esteban Granero Molina effort onto the post.

Lehtovaara was by far the most impressive player from either side on the pitch and it is hard to imagine he will be playing for TPS in the Finnish Veikkausliiga for too much longer.

Spain really should have scored more than two though and Xisco will be particularly embarrassed not to get on the score sheet as he conspired to miss a tap-in from a yard out as he could not turn the ball into the direction of the next.

Both teams depart the competition with a sense of disappointment. Finland leave without a point while Spain are left to reflect on what might have been.

Seán Fay / Eurosport