27.07.2010 18:31

Under 19s through to final

Aida Soriano

Spain’s brilliant under-19 team brushed aside England 3-1 to book their place in the UEFA final on Friday . Luis Milla again started with six Barca B players and brought a seventh, Rochina, on for the last half hour.

Àlex Sánchez, Montoya, Bartra, Planas , Romeu and Thiago all started for Spain and once more the stamp of the Masia style was clear for all to see as the Spanish youngsters played some clever passing football, keeping possession and spreading the ball wide whenever possible, getting their rewards with goals from Pacheco, Keko and Canales to ensure their presence in Friday’s final.

Dominance

Oriol Romeu had Spain’s first chance after just six minutes and with Thiago dictating things in the middle and ex-Barca man Pacheco looking sharp up front it was only a matter of time before Spain took the lead. Pacheco, the Tournament’s leading scorer, opened the scoring on12 minutes and Keko made it two 20 minutes later after a lovely touch from Canales. Just as it looked as if Spain would run away with game though, England hit back with a volley from the edge of the box by Bostock that gave Alex no chance.

Rochina gets his chance

England’s goal didn’t really change the shape of the game though and Spain’s superiority was rewarded with a cheeky Canales goal on 56 minutes. Soon after, Ruben Rochina made it the magnificent seven for Barca B, coming on for Rodrigo and he had a couple of decent chances to make it four for Spain before the ref blew for full time and signalled another final for a Barca dominated Spanish team!