National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Carlos Santillana took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 4th minute Taurino Rapado shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nicolas Brand saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 19thth minute of the game Samir Brahmi who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but U21 Spain's Omar Barberá was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Omar Barberá took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Carlos Santillana, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 22 minutes into the game, Jose Alfred was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 Spain's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 France the free kick. After a rather tough play, U21 Spain's Jose Alfred got a free kick in the 22nd minute. A sloppy throw-in by Simon Gelly in the 25th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by U21 Spain's Hugo Mallo. Omar Barberá showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Samir Brahmi in the 27th minute of the match. Taurino Rapado recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 29th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The supporters of U21 Spain booed when U21 France was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 30 match minutes in a wonderful position. Raoul Segui didn't get a good kick on the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Taurino Rapado got free with Nicolas Brand in the 33rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. U21 Spain's Omar Barberá played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Isaac Tomasini in the 35th minute of play. 38 minutes in the game Simon Gelly did a throw-in, and the ball was quickly in game thanks to Samir Brahmi. After 40 minutes of play, U21 France's Carlos Santillana made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Omar Barberá was left in no man's land by his defense there! After 45 minutes, Taurino Rapado made it 1-1 with a short kick to the right side. U21 France's Nicolas Brand tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Felipo Tormes to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 54th match minute, U21 Spain was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Anchel Fernandez to maneuver through the defense. After some careless play in the U21 France defense, Felipo Tormes kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Nicolas Brand. The U21 France fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Nicolas Brand should have stopped the shot. Nicolas Brand took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Felipo Tormes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a rather tough play, U21 Spain's Arjen Robben got a free kick in the 61st minute. 64 minutes into the match, U21 Spain's goalkeeper Omar Barberá had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Carlos Santillana. Nicolas Brand made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Felipo Tormes in the 65th minute of play. U21 Spain's Omar Barberá played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Carlos Santillana in the 71st minute of play. With a little luck, U21 Spain's Omar Barberá got control of the ball when Samir Brahmi tried to sneak it across the goal line. Arjen Robben hit a great freekick 75 minutes into the match. Arjen Robben kicked well hit freekick during the 76th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Léo Musy in the 77th minute of play forced U21 Spain's goalkeeper Omar Barberá to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Omar Barberá took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Yvan Lacote, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 80th minute, Vidal Candela hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 89th match minute, U21 Spain was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Hugo Mallo to maneuver through the defense. In the 90th minute of the match Pierrick Leal sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Omar Barberá skillfully saved the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Roberto Baggio got free with Omar Barberá in the 92nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. A sloppy throw-in by Simon Gelly in the 94th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by U21 Spain's Hugo Mallo. In the 96th minute Felipo Tormes shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nicolas Brand saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 France's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.