Thursday June 18, 2009 Finished
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- Spain U-21
- England U-21
90'+3 That's it! A cracking win for England, and they are the first side through to the semi-finals. An excellent display from England, and they will be brimming with confidence after this one! Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time.- 89' Great long-range shot by Raul Garcia, but it scampers across goal and out.
- 87' Walcott tries to make another goal down the left, with brilliant spinning dribbles to outwit the defence... but he overruns the ball and it's off for a kick.
85' Milner takes an early bath, and Craig Gardner comes on.
82' A loose tackle from Milner and the winger goes in to the referee's book - it's his second of the tournament, but his suspension will be for the meaningless next match against Germany.- 81' The pace is beginning to flag as the Spanish seem to realise that there's no way back for them now.
- 79' Free kick from Raul Garcia 30 yards distant, and it's well struck but Joe Hart gets his body right behind it.
- 77' Adrian Lopez leaps to meet a cross in from the left but can only glance the ball off the pitch.
- 76' Walcott ends the danger with a great tackle, showing both his versatility and the utter absurdity of Pearce's decision not to play him from the start.
- 75' The Spanish are pushing to try and get back, and have won a corner that leads to another...
73' AND IT'S TWO FOR ENGLAND!!!!! Walcott makes an amazing run up the left, leaves the defence for dead, and slams teh ball back into the middle of the box where a grateful James Milner thunders the ball into the centre of the net! Fabulous goal for England!- 72' The corner is cleared, but Spain come back and Raul Garcia tries to break the line. He succeeds only in conceding a goal kick.
- 71' Spain come back into things hard looking for an equaliser, and have won a corner...
- 69' Well deserved goal on the run of play for the English side; they've not made hatfuls of chances, but have been fairly comfortably in charge and are value for the lead.
- 67' GOAL FOR ENGLAND!!! Frazier Campbell gets a ball from Milner, and utterly wrongfoots the defence by cutting back towards the edge of the box... and makes no mistake with the time he earns himself. The strike is perfect, and it's a superb goal deep into the bottom right corner giving Asenjo no chance!!!
- 66' The ball is whipped in by Milner but well taken by Asenjo.
- 66' Milner picks out Walcott, who tries to dash into the box... and wins a corner.
- 65' England are making the running now, but the Spanish defence are making it tough for them to make clear chances.
- 63' Will the Arsenal wonder-winger make something happen? Pearce's men have proven their defensive quality - one or two bloopers aside - but if they're going to threaten to win this tournament then they need more creativity than they've shown so far.
- 61' Walcott comes on for Johnson.
- 57' Bojan comes off for Capel.
60' After an age waiting for the kick it's Jurado who shoots, but it's straight at Hart who takes it cleanly.- 59' The wall is taking ages to build...
- 58' Free kick for Spain, 25 yards out and right in front of goal - it's Muamba who is penalised, leaving his boot in during a tackle.
- 56' England thrust back up the pitch and earn a couple of half-chances, but the defence restrict them to a couple of mediocre long shots.
- 54' GREAT CHANCE FOR SPAIN!!!!! Joe Hart loses his head completely there, ending up running 40 yards out of his goal to close down Raul Garcia on the Spanish right wing, but he's rounded with ease and the playmaker's shot is cleared off the line!
- 52' The Spanish have really dialled up the intensity a few notches: they're leaving their boots in all over the place.
- 51' Gibbs is still not back on his feet, but now Frazier Campbell gets clobbered too...
50' Kieran Gibbs gets his shins clipped in a challenge by the improbably-named Azpilicueta and there's a brief break for treatment.- 49' Adrian Lopez delivers a lovely ball to Bojan, in a bit of space and on the edge of the box... but he miscontrols, and loses the ball without so much as a toe-poke goalwards.
- 47' Long-range shot by Raul Garcia flies well wide of the post.
- 47' Looks like the Spanish ninos have had a bit of a half-time roasting: they're all over things in the early exchanges of this half.
46' We're back under way in Gothenburg...- 45'+1 That's the end of the half, and it's been mostly a pretty quiet affair - other than the penalty incident. It's England who have come closest to scoring, through Milner's missed penalty and Onohua's crazy back-pass... Let's hope the sides come back out looking a little sharper after their oranges and Lucozade.
- 45'+1 One minute to add...
- 45... Milner's ball disappoints, floating clean over the penalty box and off over the advertising hoardings.
- 44' England push back up and win a free kick through Johnson on the left... A chance for Milner to make something happen, surely?
- 43' Poor from Spain, passing back and forth across the pitch... and when a a ball finally comes in from Monreal, it's woefully overhit.
- 42' Poor tackle by Noble, and Spain have a chance at coming up through into the England half.
- 41' Things are picking up a little as both sides realise that they'll have to make something happen or risk losing this one to a piece of brilliance from the opposition...
- 39' Half-chance for Cattermole as a high, bouncing ball reaches him on the right-hand side of the box, but he doesn't quite connect with his round-house strike and it's an easy save for the keeper.
- 38' Agbonlahor landed a little awkwardly while jumping for a ball a few minutes ago, and he is now replaced by Frazier Campbell.
- 37' First decent chance for Spain! It's Bojan Krkic, who is gifted just enough space by a decent Raul Garcia pass to have a crack from 25 yards. It's beautifully struck, but doesn't quite curl back enough to get to the top corner.
- 35' Spain try to get back in to things, but Stuart Pearce's boys are pressing tirelessly...
- 33' England are definitely winning this one on points, if not goals - but Sergio Asenjo looks extremely confident in the Spanish goal. He'll be very, very difficult to beat on this evidence - and you can see why he's apparently a Barca target.
31' Milner picks himself up to take the spot kick.... AND IT'S SAVED!!!! It was a decent effort but Sergio Asenjo guessed well and dived brilliantly to palm the ball clear.
31' Some nice work on the left opens up space for a Muamba shot - it's wide, but from the clearance Milner gets into the box... AND JAVI GARCIA TAKES HIS LEG AWAY! PENALTY!!!- 30' England are starting to look threatening now after those good balls in from Milner has put a bit of wind up the Spanish.
- 29' The corner is excellent and Micah Richards ends up with the ball at his feet - but he's facing the wrong direction, and the sturdy defenders jump in to stop him turning and shooting.
- 28' Milner gets a ball in - from the right this time, he's switching back and forth like an overexcited politician - and Agbonlahors decent header forces a corner.
- 26' Spain are trying to calm things down even more, hanging on to the ball trying to frustrate England and bring them out of position.
- 25' Milner gets a ball in from the left, and Agbonlahor is right in there... but again Sergio Asenjo is there and collects comfortably.
- 25' The pace of this match is so slow you'd think it was 1990s action from Serie A. If the passing was a bit better, anyway...
- 24' It's floated in towards the far post, but Spanish goalie Sergio Asenjo takes a confident-looking catch despite tracking backwards to get to the ball.
- 23' England free kick just inside the Spain half... Milner will take.
- 22' Cattermole receives a good pass 10 yards outside the box, but miscontrols and loses his window of opportunity to get a shot in.
- 21' Barca's second-string striker Bojan Krkic picks up the ball in a useful position just outside the box... but freaks out and gives it away again. After a season spent warming benches in Spain he looks woefully short of match sharpness.
- 19' Free kick to the Spanish just inside the England half following a nothing challenge, but it's wasted.
- 17' The turf at this stadium really is beautiful. You'd think they were playing on a spare few rolls of turf stolen from a local garden centre.
- 16' Javi Martinez gets the ball into the box and there's a half-chance of something happening for the Spanish - but the only shirts anywhere near him are white ones, and he's quickly closed down.
- 15' Spain seem emboldened by Onuoha's crashing stupidity with that careless back-pass, and Jurado has a crack at a long shot... but it's an extremely poor effort that slices embarassingly towards the corner flag.
- 14' What a let-off for England... that would have been clanger of the tournament and no mistake.
- 13' SO CLOSE TO A GOAL FOR SPAIN!!!!! Onuoha, half-asleep, plays a casual back pass to Joe Hart between the sticks... but Hart is out of position, Onuoha over-hits, and the ball comes within a yard of going in for a ridiculous own-goal!
- 12' It's turning into a pretty sleepy game at the moment now...
- 11' England regain possession and come back up field...
- 10' Spain now try to get in on the action, with Raul Garcia looking thoughtful as he tries to split the defence with through-balls - but the back-four look like they're a step ahead.
- 8' Possession finally turns into a half-chance as Milner puts in a cross from the left... but it's poorly angled and flies harmlessly over the keeper's head.
- 7' England are keeping hold of the ball like a pit bull hanging on to a burglar's arm at the moment...
- 6' England look vaguely in charge of proceedings at the moment - though it's a marginal distinction - on account of what appear to be superior tackling and defensive skills.
- 4' Quiet start to the match so far, with no chances at either end to report.
- 2' It's a beautiful sunny evening in Sweden for this match, and the pitch is perfect - let's hope the players can use the opportunity to do some of the silky passing and movement that we'd like to see to showcase their skills.
1' We're under way in the first half here in Gothenburg, and straight away the Villa duo of Milner and Agbonlahor combine well to create a half-chance.- - A bit of surprising teams news: Pearce has left Theo Walcott out of the side, with James Milner playing down the right wing instead in a 4-3-3 formation.
- - Good evening everyone - we're 15 minutes from kick-off in what could be a massive match for England: beat Spain tonight, and they will be the first team into the semi-finals.
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Summary
- 73' AND IT'S TWO FOR ENGLAND!!!!! Walcott makes an amazing run up the left, leaves the defence for dead, and slams teh ball back into the middle of the box where a grateful James Milner thunders the ball into the centre of the net! Fabulous goal for England!
- 67' GOAL FOR ENGLAND!!! Frazier Campbell gets a ball from Milner, and utterly wrongfoots the defence by cutting back towards the edge of the box... and makes no mistake with the time he earns himself. The strike is perfect, and it's a superb goal deep into the bottom right corner giving Asenjo no chance!!!
- 60' After an age waiting for the kick it's Jurado who shoots, but it's straight at Hart who takes it cleanly.
- 58' Free kick for Spain, 25 yards out and right in front of goal - it's Muamba who is penalised, leaving his boot in during a tackle.
- 54' GREAT CHANCE FOR SPAIN!!!!! Joe Hart loses his head completely there, ending up running 40 yards out of his goal to close down Raul Garcia on the Spanish right wing, but he's rounded with ease and the playmaker's shot is cleared off the line!
- 49' Adrian Lopez delivers a lovely ball to Bojan, in a bit of space and on the edge of the box... but he miscontrols, and loses the ball without so much as a toe-poke goalwards.
- 39' Half-chance for Cattermole as a high, bouncing ball reaches him on the right-hand side of the box, but he doesn't quite connect with his round-house strike and it's an easy save for the keeper.
- 37' First decent chance for Spain! It's Bojan Krkic, who is gifted just enough space by a decent Raul Garcia pass to have a crack from 25 yards. It's beautifully struck, but doesn't quite curl back enough to get to the top corner.
- 31' Milner picks himself up to take the spot kick.... AND IT'S SAVED!!!! It was a decent effort but Sergio Asenjo guessed well and dived brilliantly to palm the ball clear.
- 31' Some nice work on the left opens up space for a Muamba shot - it's wide, but from the clearance Milner gets into the box... AND JAVI GARCIA TAKES HIS LEG AWAY! PENALTY!!!
- 29' The corner is excellent and Micah Richards ends up with the ball at his feet - but he's facing the wrong direction, and the sturdy defenders jump in to stop him turning and shooting.
- 28' Milner gets a ball in - from the right this time, he's switching back and forth like an overexcited politician - and Agbonlahors decent header forces a corner.
- 25' Milner gets a ball in from the left, and Agbonlahor is right in there... but again Sergio Asenjo is there and collects comfortably.
- 13' SO CLOSE TO A GOAL FOR SPAIN!!!!! Onuoha, half-asleep, plays a casual back pass to Joe Hart between the sticks... but Hart is out of position, Onuoha over-hits, and the ball comes within a yard of going in for a ridiculous own-goal!
Team lineup & ratings
Spain U-21
Manager: José Ramón López Caro
England U-21
Manager: Stuart Pearce
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Lineup
Live Team Line-Up
Spain U-21
Manager: José Ramón López Caro
Starting line-up
- Azpilicueta
- F. Javi García
- M. Torrejón
- I. Monreal
- M. Suárez
- J. Martínez
- .. Raul Garcia
- L. Adrián
- K. Bojan
- J. Jurado
Subs
- F. Chico
- .. Xisco
- D. Capel
57′ - J. Pereira
- S. Sánchez
- S. Pedro León
- S. Sisi
- E. Granero
- M. Torres
- M. Marcano
- R. Jiménez Gago
England U-21
Manager: Stuart Pearce
Starting line-up
- J. Hart
- M. Cranie
- M. Richards
- N. Onuoha
- K. Gibbs
- F. Muamba
- L. Cattermole
- M. Noble
- J. Milner
- A. Johnson
- G. Agbonlahor
Subs
- C. Gardner 85′
- T. Walcott 61′
- A. Taylor
- R. Stearman
- S. Loach
- F. Campbell 38′
- A. Driver
- J. Lewis
- J. Rodwell
- J. Tomkins
- D. Rose
Suspended
- M. Mancienne
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Rate Players
stop crying you spanierds you need an english roasting!!!
FAIR PLAY ENGLAND U21 RULES THEO THEO THEO WALCOTT WALCOTT WALCOTT
Nice match
Well done England U21.
norirearakelyan, you have come over in a very bad light I'm afraid.
The English are not any more arrogant or cocky as other nations.
Maybe the fact that English is the most spoken language in the world has something to do with fact that people see us congratulating our team.
Plus the fact that other nations come on sites like this to bash the English team.
Do people go on sites talking about Croatia, Spain, Germany etc etc no!
I bet those nations talk about winning the cup and and saying how good they are just as much as the English team.
England, France and Germany have had a disliking for each other for hundreds of years, not just because of the events of 60 years ago, Do you really think that we are all that petty?
And the comment about Ferdinand and Walcot being of African blood is the most pathetic comment, How many from the Armenian national team are 100% Armenian.... Very very few if any! I think you will find most blood lines around the world entwined.
If you don’t like the English or the team don’t come onto sites about them until they play your team, We don’t go on sites bashing Armenia after they have played Georgia do we!
I'M ENGLISH , WELL DONE LADS
were is the support for our young lads, come on england bring the trophy home
Everything goes very very nicely until... you know what!!!
Everything goes nicely until you meet Almighty GERMANY then is Adios Amigos!!!
Everything goes nicely until you meet Almighty Germany then Adios Amigos...
Steve H well said that man...
A feeling which returns to our green and pleasant land in scores...we have embraced again our own national self being...i too as many other are refuse to be labelled british and never promote the union jack,would not be seen dead with it...like you said the olympics have debated with a british combined football team with the fa and only the english fa has agreed the rest snubbed it, we will have an olympic football team in london and they will be all english players as they would have been anyway if the scottish fa and welsh and irish would have accepted the offer.... i love being englishEverything goes nicely until you meet Almighty Germany
I hate it how if someone is really good at something and they are Scottish, (e.g. Andy Murray) the media labels them British, but if someone English achieves something great, they are said to be English, not British. And as for this whole race thing, I think it should be down to the player who they decide to play for, which it is. Mary, by the way, stay out of this debate as I agree with Mr President, I thought you had hit the haystacks.
I'm ENGLISH - not British.
If the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish are allowed to be nationalistic - then so am I.
I'm glad there isn't a British football team - but if there was - there'd only be English players involved anyway.
As for our under 21 team - great result.
With a proud Englishman like Stuart Pearce in charge - what did you expect?lol...england should give walcot a starting line-up
he play better than anyoneTHOUGHT YOU'D GONE TO BED SCARY MARY
"are you scary hairy minge????"
Wow! I've NEVER heard THAT one before....
You're playing with yourself, aren't you?
And you think I'M strange.....
Mary, if that is your name,are you scary hairy minge???? you're very strange
wizzythekid you seem fair enough. Im sorry about my comments about walcott and ferdinand. I dont want to be seen as racist. The only reason i said it was not becuase i hate black people, which i most certainly do not, its becuase i believe they should choose to play for the country where they originate from. same for any other countries like germany, spain or italy etc
I've read enough tripe on this board tonight - I'm going to bed. Congratulations to England on a fine victory this evening. If only they could read the messages of "support" here - they would be SO proud..... not
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