Spain wary as Norway eye another surprise

Spain wary as Norway eye another surprise

Julen Lopetegui believes holders Spain will face their "hardest match" in the semi-final against a Norway side aiming to take "another big jump" according to coach Tor Ole Skullerud.

Norway coach Tor Ole Skullerud admitted that Spain were "big favourites" to win Saturday's UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final in Netanya but is hopeful his team might be ready to take "another big jump" forward by upsetting the holders. His Spain counterpart, Julen Lopetegui, believes his team will face their toughest test yet against the Scandinavians.

Julen Lopetegui, Spain coach
For me, tomorrow will be the hardest match of the tournament. We're in the semi-finals of a European Championship and have the chance to get to the final, but so do Norway. We have as much respect for Norway as for Italy or any other team. They're a complete team in every aspect, they have great tactical discipline, and have been reinforced by four players from their national team.

They're the team who've had the most corners and one of the teams with the most shots on goal. They knocked out France [in the play-offs] and have beaten England. They have a lot of good players, who have experience with the full national team. They are players with different styles who combine well together. Their attacking play is very good and they defend with great intensity and real unity – they're a proper team.

[On starting with Rodrigo or Álvaro Morata] I've already decided in my mind who will start. We have the two options and we'll decide at each moment. Whichever of the two plays will do a fantastic job.

Group stage results
Spain 1-0 Russia (Morata 82)
Germany 0-1 Spain (Morata 86)
Spain 3-0 Netherlands (Morata 26, Isco 32, Álvaro Vázquez 90+1)

• Spain sealed a semi-final berth with a game to spare thanks to two late Álvaro Morata goals. The Real Madrid CF forward chalked up three goals in 70 minutes after coming off the bench against Russia and Germany and scoring a 26th-minute opener in the final Group B match against the Netherlands. Morata subsequently leads the race for the adidas Golden Boot award.

Team news
Lopetegui said he is hopeful midfielder Ignacio Camacho will recover from the ankle injury he suffered against the Netherlands. "He's got a chance of being fit and that's what we're working towards," said the coach, who otherwise has no injury doubts.

Tor Ole Skullerud, Norway coach
We have made several breakthroughs which have given us confidence and helped us build a strong squad. I feel very strongly that if we are to make another big jump it has to be tomorrow.

Spain are big favourites going into the game. They have played three good games so far, we have studied them and we are going to try to make a good game plan. We can be the big surprise of the tournament, maybe we already are. I have lots of good players and we have a fantastic mentality but you don't get much better than Spain – they're probably one of the best teams in the world at this level. It's a fantastic opportunity for us to see what we can do against the best.

We don't want only to defend but also to attack and give them as much trouble as we can with our own play – we'll try to interrupt their passing and moving, their rhythm. If we let them play all the time and can't get in tackles and win the ball then we're going to struggle. I am sure Spain will have more of the ball, but the problem is if we let them come too far up the pitch, let them play through and there's lots of movement in the last third of the pitch. It's not a problem to have less possession but we need to cause them trouble as well. Against England we were clinical, we did well on the counter but I want to keep the ball better than we did against them.

[On the 5-2 friendly loss to Spain in March] We had a poor game but our team was very different and we hadn't started our league back in Norway. I am sure we'll be closer to the level of Spain this time.

Group stage results
Israel 2-2 Norway (Biton 16pen, Turgeman 71; Pedersen 24, Singh 90+1)
England 1-3 Norway (Dawson 57pen; Semb Berge 15, Berget 34, Eikrem 52)
Norway 1-1 Italy (Strandberg 90pen; Bertolacci 90+4)

• The Scandinavian side needed a late Harmeet Singh equaliser to prise a point from hosts Israel in the opening game and moved to within a point of qualification with victory against England in Petah Tikva. A point against Italy in their final Group A game was enough to seal only Norway’s second U21 semi-final appearance.

Team news
Fredrik Semb Berge came through his first full training session on Thursday since the England game and Skullerud confirmed in his press conference he has a full squad to choose from. "We go into tomorrow with all 23 players ready to play," he said.

Match fact
Unbeaten in 24 competitive matches, a run which includes 22 wins, Spain are looking to win the U21 trophy for the fourth time after previous triumphs in 1986, 1998 and 2011.

Did you know?
Julen Lopetegui experienced Norwegian football as a player for Rayo Vallecano de Madrid in the 2000 UEFA Cup first round against Molde FK. The Spain coach played 90 minutes as the capital club triumphed 1-0 in Scandinavia but was an unused substitute in the return leg which finished 1-1.

Around the U21 camps: Wednesday

Around the U21 camps: Wednesday

Spain beat the Netherlands to top Group B, Germany bowed out with a win and Norway took a tour of Jerusalem. UEFA.com rounds up the final day of the group stage.

Group B
GermanyThe German players said they would have a good last night together after finishing their finals campaign with a 2-1 win against Russia in Netanya, though midfielder Sebastian Rode said there was "no reason for a major celebration". Their last Group B game was a tight affair, even with Russia down to ten men, and Rode added: "We could have decided the match earlier. After it went 2-1, we should have quickly added a third, but then it became close in the end with them hitting the post. Luckily we edged it."

Rainer Adrion said he would "give a short speech to say goodbye to the players I've known for two years" when he got back to the hotel after the game, and the squad will fly back to Munich tomorrow.

NetherlandsThe Netherlands' 3-0 defeat by Spain equalled their heaviest loss on the UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals stage but coach Cor Pot defended his decision to completely change his starting XI from their previous game. Between them the entire Dutch lineup in Petah Tikva had a combined 77 minutes' match action in Israel prior to Wednesday's game but Pot explained after a result that cost the Jong Oranje top spot in Group B that he wanted his first-choice players fresh for the semi-finals.
"Spain are a very experienced team and we had an inexperienced team today," he added. "I'm very happy that I did it with these players as it was very important for us."

Russia
There was obvious disappointment in the Russia camp after a third straight loss in Group B, though there was a feeling – expressed by the coach and players – that it was an improved performance following the 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands.

They came close to a point when substitute Fedor Smolov hit the post late on, and Nikolai Pisarev said that he would have brought on the striker earlier if his game plan had not been shaken up by the red card received by Georgi Schennikov. Two main groups within the squad are taking afternoon flights to Moscow tomorrow, but even tonight there are players heading off to different places following their exit.

Spain
The victory over the Netherlands equalled Spain's biggest win at a UEFA European Under-21 Championship final tournament and extended their unbeaten run in competitive matches to 24 matches. Moreover, it set up a semi-final against Norway for the Group A winners, although coach Julen Lopetegui was quick to dismiss the suggestion that the Norwegians would be easier semi-final opponents than Italy. "I think this match will be very difficult," said Lopetegui, who also hailed the display of goalkeeper David de Gea who made three fine saves to keep the Dutch at bay.

Lopetegui made seven changes for Wednesday's game, including giving an U21 debut to the squad's oldest player, Álvaro, who replaced Marc Bartra in central defence. There was one downside for La Rojita who saw Ignacio Camacho limp off in the second half. He later left Ha Moshava with ice strapped to his ankle.

Group A
England
The Young Lions returned home and will be keen to put their campaign in Israel behind them. England start out on the road to the next final tournament in the Czech Republic in 2015 on 5 September against Moldova.

Israel
Coach Guy Luzon was keen to stress that his side had performed above expectations after they finished third in Group A with four points from three games. He concluded: "If you told me before that we'd draw against Norway, the team that I said would beat Italy and England, then we'd beat England and lose to Italy no one in the country would have believed me." Luzon moves on to pastures new in Belgium with R. Standard de Liège while Israel Under-21s start on the road to the Czech Republic in 2015 against Azerbaijan on 7 September.

Italy
Those players involved in Tuesday's Group A meeting with Norway had only light training and massages but the remaining members of the squad trained in the evening. The injured Luca Marrone will remain with the squad after his club, Juventus, responded positively to his request to stay with the team until the end of the tournament.

Norway
The players who took part in Tuesday's draw with Italy did a gym session in the morning while those not involved trained as normal. In the afternoon, players and coaching staff had the opportunity to take a tour of Jerusalem, attended by a sizeable number of the Norway party.

Norway will now play a semi-final against Spain, the same nation they lost to on their one previous appearance at this stage of the U21 finals in 1998. Nils Johan Semb, who was coach then and is now technical director of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF), is with the squad in Tel Aviv and said there was greater strength in depth in the current group.