National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Pol Polentinos started the match with the kick off. In the 3rd minute, Pol Polentinos left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The U21 Spain fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-0. Leonel Paiva blasted a shot towards the goal in the 10th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Aznaro Marquez having to make a save. Aznaro Marquez showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Leonel Paiva, who was totally free with the ball in the 10th minute. Ginés Colsa hit a great freekick 10 minutes into the match. In the 11th match minute, U21 Spain was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bautista Riba to maneuver through the defense. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Ginés Colsa during the 14th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 14th minute, Ginés Colsa hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 16 minutes into the match, U21 Spain's goal looked a bit too open when André Ventura came free, but Aznaro Marquez reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Leonel Paiva might have been able to make a better finish in the 22nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Aznaro Marquez. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Leonel Paiva ran back to his position shaking his head. U21 Spain's Aznaro Marquez played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Leonel Paiva in the 22nd minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Portugal's zone, Pol Polentinos stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Rúben Santiago came out of the goal and Pol Polentinos tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 27th minute, Pol Polentinos got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Aznaro Marquez showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Leonel Paiva, who was totally free with the ball in the 30th minute. After 32 played minutes U21 Spain got a freekick which was hit by Sergio Carreira. In the 38th minute, Leonel Paiva made a precise shot to the right of Aznaro Marquez. U21 Spain's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-1. After 47 played minutes U21 Portugal got a freekick which was hit by Donato Caetano. After 48 minutes of play, U21 Spain's Pol Polentinos made it 2-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Rúben Santiago was left in no man's land by his defense there! Af the end of the first half the score was 2-1. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when André Ventura stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After having played for 55 minutes, Rolando Solo managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 Spain's supporters crossed their fingers, but Rolando Solo was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. U21 Spain made a substitution. Eskuin Gonzáles replaced Raúl González. U21 Spain made a substitution. Miloslav Klose replaced Pol Polentinos. A collision led to U21 Spain getting a freekick after 70 minutes play. Rolando Solo hit a great ball. In the 73rd match minute, U21 Portugal was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Pepe Muro to maneuver through the defense. U21 Portugal made a substitution. Filipe Nóbrega replaced André Ventura. U21 Portugal's Sérgio Leal was substituted for Leonel Paiva. In the 75th minute, Pepe Muro hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 77th minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Portugal's goalkeeper Rúben Santiago, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After 78 minutes U21 Portugal's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Eskuin Gonzáles who took care of the corner kick. 81 minutes into the match, Miloslav Klose had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Rúben Santiago. U21 Portugal's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Miloslav Klose was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-1. Adolfo Neves's late challenge caught a U21 Spain's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Adolfo Neves helped the player get up and apologised. In the 89th minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Portugal's goalkeeper Rúben Santiago, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 91st minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Portugal's goalkeeper Rúben Santiago, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. U21 Portugal's Rúben Santiago played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Eskuin Gonzáles in the 93rd minute of play. U21 Spain's Aznaro Marquez proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 94th minute of the match, managed to save U21 Spain from getting a goal against them. U21 Portugal's Rúben Santiago played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Miloslav Klose in the 98th minute of play. It was no surprise that this one had ended in a win for the home team. U21 Spain had played much better football throughout.