Spain Under-21 men’s football team continue winning streak

The Spain Under-21 men’s national football team have continued their fantastic run of good results, with four wins from four games during September and October.

Several of their young players have been very impressive and will undoubtedly be competing for a place in Luis Enrique’s senior squad soon.

Fer Niño, Yeremi Pino and Sergio Gómez have all scored at least two goals each in less than two months, contributing to a tally of 12 goals in just four games versus Russia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Northern Ireland.

Despite conceding three goals, Spain won every game comfortably, albeit against sides they were probably expected to beat.

This 100% record follows an already impressive winning streak across recent years.

Spain U21 has now won 80 of a possible 100 matches since 2010

Spain have won 80 games, drawn 13 and lost seven games since 2010. More encouragingly, their record has improved recently.

Since suffering a shock 2-1 loss at home to Northern Ireland in September 2018, Spain have won 23 games from a possible 29 – drawing four and losing just two against Italy in 2019 and Portugal in 2021.

This record is better than the current Spanish senior national football team, and better than almost any country’s U21 side – suggesting that the future generation of Spain players will have a good chance of becoming the best team in Europe and in the world once again.

What are Spain U21’s most recent results?

September 3 – Spain U21 4 – 1 Russia U21 (Almendralejo)

September 7 – Lithuania U21 0 – 2 Spain U21 (Vilnius)

October 8 – Spain U21 3 – 2 Slovakia U21 (Sevilla)

October 12 – Spain U21 3 – 0 Northern Ireland U21 (Sevilla)

What are the Spain U21 fixtures in upcoming months?

Spain will next face Malta (A) on November 12, followed by Russia (A) four days later. They return to action in March 2022 when they face Lithuania (H) and Slovakia (A) away, before playing Northern Ireland (A) and Malta (H) in June 2022.

Who are the best players for the Spain U21 squad in 2021?

Based on the fact that goals win games, Spain’s top scorers are the ones to watch.

Goals have come from a wide range of players in 2021 – Javi Puado (23, RCD Espanyol), Yeremi Pino (18, Villarreal CF) and Sergio Gómez (21, RSC Anderlecht) have each scored three goals.

Dani Gómez (23, Levante UD) and Fer Niño (20, Villarreal CF/RCD Mallorca) have both scored twice each.

According to UEFA rules, several players who are 22 or even 23-years-old can play at U21 level, depending on their birthday and whether they were still 21 or less when the current qualification process began.

Will any Spain U21 players make it into the senior squad?

Around five of the current Spain U21 squad could receive senior international call-ups in the next two years.

They will have to compete with an already relatively young squad, but if they continue to play well and score plenty of goals, two or three players could well become first-team regulars for Spain.

Read: 5 talking points from England’s draw with Hungary.