Spain national under-23 football team

Spain Under-23

Nickname(s)	La Rojita (The Little Red One) La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
Association	Royal Spanish Football Federation (Real Federación Española de Fútbol – RFEF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Luis de la Fuente
Most caps	Luis Enrique (14)
Top scorer	Kiko (7)
FIFA code	ESP
First colours Second colours
First international
Yugoslavia 3–0 Spain  (Novi Sad, Yugoslavia; 18 June 1969)
Biggest win
Spain 5–0 Libya  (El Ejido, Spain; 1 July 2005)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 4–0 Spain  (Birmingham, United States; 27 July 1996)Records for competitive matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances	5 (first in 1992)
Best result	Gold medalist (1992)

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
	1920 Antwerp	Team[1]
	1992 Barcelona	Team
	2000 Sydney	Team
	2020 Tokyo	Team

Spain national under-23 football team

Medal record
U-23 Mediterranean Games
	2005 Almería, Spain	Team

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 five Olympic competitions since 1992, Spain has won one gold medal (1992) and two silver medals (2000 and 2020). It is one of the most successful Olympic teams

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 round 1 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.^[2]

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

2021[]

Records[]

Most capped players[]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Year(s)	U-23 Caps
1	Luis Enrique	Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid	1991–1992	14
2	Mikel Lasa	Real Sociedad, Real Madrid	1991–1992	13
3	Abelardo	Sporting Gijón	1991–1992	12
	Pep Guardiola	Barcelona	1991–1992	12
	Kiko	Cádiz	1991–1992	12
	Roberto Solozábal	Atlético Madrid	1991–1992	12
7	Alfonso	Real Madrid	1991–1992	11
	Paco Soler	Mallorca	1991–1992	11
9	Joaquín	Sporting Gijón	1979–1982	8
	Juan Manuel Asensi	Elche, Barcelona	1969–1971	8
	Rafael Berges	Córdoba, Tenerife	1991–1992	8
	Toni	Figueres	1992	8
	Antonio Pinilla	Mallorca	1991–1992	8

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

Top goalscorers[]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Year(s)	U-23 Goals
1	Kiko	Cádiz	1991–1992	7
2	Alfonso	Real Madrid	1991–1992	6
3	Abelardo	Sporting Gijón	1991–1992	5
4	Ramón Vázquez	Sevilla	1987–1988	4
5	Gabri	Barcelona	2000	3
	Luis Enrique	Sporting Gijón, Real Madrid	1991–1992	3
	Mikel Oyarzabal	Real Sociedad	2021	3
	Carles Rexach	Condal, Barcelona	1967–1970	3
	José Mari	Milan	2000	3
	Rafa Mir	Wolverhampton	2021	3
		Elche	1967	3

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

• Caps and goals correct as of 7 August 2021.

Players[]

The following players were named to the squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[3]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Unai Simón*	(1997-06-11) 11 June 1997 (age 24)	7	0	Athletic Bilbao
13	1GK	Álvaro Fernández	(1998-04-13) 13 April 1998 (age 23)	1	0	Huesca
22	1GK	Iván Villar	(1997-07-09) 9 July 1997 (age 24)	0	0	Celta
2	2DF	Óscar Mingueza	(1999-05-13) 13 May 1999 (age 22)	3	0	Barcelona
3	2DF	Marc Cucurella	(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998 (age 23)	6	0	Getafe
4	2DF	Pau Torres*	(1997-01-16) 16 January 1997 (age 25)	7	0	Villarreal
5	2DF	Jesús Vallejo	(1997-06-05) 5 June 1997 (age 24)	5	0	Real Madrid
12	2DF	Eric García*	(2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 (age 21)	7	0	Barcelona
18	2DF	Óscar Gil	(1998-04-26) 26 April 1998 (age 23)	5	0	Espanyol
20	2DF	Juan Miranda	(2000-01-19) 19 January 2000 (age 22)	5	0	Betis
6	3MF	Martín Zubimendi	(1999-02-02) 2 February 1999 (age 22)	6	0	Real Sociedad
8	3MF	Mikel Merino	(1996-06-22) 22 June 1996 (age 25)	6	1	Real Sociedad
10	3MF	Dani Ceballos (captain)	(1996-08-07) 7 August 1996 (age 25)	2	0	Real Madrid
14	3MF	Carlos Soler	(1997-01-02) 2 January 1997 (age 25)	7	1	Valencia
15	3MF	Jon Moncayola	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998 (age 23)	6	0	Osasuna
16	3MF	Pedri*	(2002-11-25) 25 November 2002 (age 19)	7	0	Barcelona
17	3MF	Javi Puado	(1998-05-25) 25 May 1998 (age 23)	3	0	Espanyol
7	4FW	Marco Asensio	(1996-01-21) 21 January 1996 (age 26)	7	1	Real Madrid
9	4FW	Rafa Mir	(1997-06-18) 18 June 1997 (age 24)	7	3	Wolverhampton Wanderers
11	4FW	Mikel Oyarzabal*	(1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 24)	7	3	Real Sociedad
19	4FW	Dani Olmo*	(1998-05-07) 7 May 1998 (age 23)	7	1	RB Leipzig
21	4FW	Bryan Gil	(2001-02-11) 11 February 2001 (age 20)	6	0	Tottenham Hotspur

Players who were also called up for Euro 2020 are marked with asterisk (*).

Honours[]

Summer Olympics

• Gold medalists (1): 1992
• Silver medalists (3): 1920, 2000, 2020

Competitive record[]

Olympic Games[]

A gold background color indicates that Spain won the tournament.

Summer Olympics record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Squad
1992	Gold Medalists	1st	6	6	0	0	14	2	Squad
1996	Quarter-Finals	6th	4	2	1	1	5	7	Squad
2000	Silver Medalist	2nd	6	4	1	1	12	6	Squad
2004	Did Not Qualify
2008
2012	Group Stage	14th	3	0	1	2	0	2	Squad
2016	Did Not Qualify
2020	Silver Medalist	2nd	6	3	2	1	9	5	Squad
Total	1 Gold medal	5/8	25	15	5	5	40	22	–

Spain U-23's Olympics record
First Match	Spain 4–0 Colombia  (24 July 1992; Valencia, Spain)
Biggest Win	Spain 4–0 Colombia  (24 July 1992; Valencia, Spain)
Biggest Defeat	Spain 0–4 Argentina  (27 July 1996; Birmingham, United States)
Best Result	Gold medalists in 1992
Worst Result	Group stage in 2012

• Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
• Gold background color indicates first-place finish. Silver background color indicates second-place finish.
• Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

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.

Date	Winners	Runners-up	Venue
18 June 1969	Yugoslavia	Spain	Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

UEFA European Under-23 Championship[]

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1972	Qualifying stage	2	0	1	1	2	3
1974	Did not enter
1976
Total	0/3	2	0	1	1	2	3

Mediterranean Games[]

Mediterranean Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2005	Gold medalists	1st	4	3	1	0	9	1
Total	1 Gold medal	1/1	4	3	1	0	9	1

See also[]

• Spain national football team
• Spain national under-21 football team
• Spain national under-20 football team
• Spain national under-19 football team
• Spain national under-18 football team
• Spain national under-17 football team
• Spain national under-16 football team
• Spain national under-15 football team
• Spain national youth football team

References[]

External links[]

• siemprecantera (in Spanish)
• Tournament archive at uefa.com
• UEFA U-23 European Championship at rsssf