Yarek Gasiorowski did not participate in the victory of the Spanish under-21 team against Romania (0-2). The PSV Eindhoven player could not play due to injury. The former Valencia player injured his ankle in the last game with PSV, where he also had to be substituted. Despite the setback, to demonstrate their commitment, He has been with the team all week trying to get to this Tuesday’s game: treating himself, entering with the group and testing himself even until the end to see if he could be available.
Finally, this Tuesday, together with the medical services, it was decided that it was not appropriate to force for this match and that it was better to leave him out so that he can fully recover. On Tuesday they play a key Champions League match at Anfield against Liverpool, which further reinforces the decision. Cristhian Mosquera, pFor his part, he was the starter and captain of La Rojita.
The chronicle
A goal from Gonzalo García in the 17th minute and another from Iván Fresneda in the 53rd minute allowed the Spanish U-21 team to beat Romania (0-2) and maintain the total number of victories, five out of five, in the first round of the qualifying phase for the European Championship of the category that will be held in the summer of 2027.
David Gordo’s men arrived in Sibiu (Romania) knowing that it was one of their most difficult outings, even though the local team does not have its best under-21 generation in recent years, and that demand marked from the bench was demonstrated in the first minutes.
Intense start from Spain, doing damage on both sides, with many resources. Jesús Rodríguez, Mayenda and Gonzalo fell to the right side that he regularly occupied in lower categories before settling as a center forward, and the full-backs surpassed the local team.
In a combination on the right wing, between Mayenda and Fresenda, the Sporting de Portugal full-back put a cross, first, to the near post that Gonzalo read perfectly to attack the ball and finish with a header, diving, to make it 0-1 in the 17th minute.
A bit of a trademark for Gonzalo who once again finds his refuge in Spain under-21, after a season in which, despite closing the previous one as a starter for Real Madrid and as top scorer in the Club World Cup, he is not playing a leading role in Xabi Alonso’s plans.
However, he is a permanent fixture for David Gordo and has already scored four goals with Spain under-21.
Spain controlled the game until the first half hour, when Romania took a step forward, raised their lines and pressed high. And one of those actions caused an error in the release of the ball, with a slip by Jacobo, on a playing field that was far from the best conditions due to the rain, and Romania had the tie in a shot by Atanas Trică that Rodrigo Mendoza cleared for a corner.
The rest was good for David Gordo’s team to recover and regain control of the game and intensity. So much so that, seven minutes after returning to the field, they doubled the lead.
Mayenda and Fresneda once again demonstrated their good understanding on the right side to generate the same goal. Mayenda protected the ball, Fresneda entered the area and shot hard at the near post to beat Stefan Lefter who in the 65th minute avoided Spain’s third with a good save after a header from Pablo García.
Six minutes later the Romanian goalkeeper repeated a shot by Pablo García from outside the area to keep his team alive, who, however, failed to put Spain in trouble in the last part of the match.
David Gordo’s team closed their visit to Romania with victory and received another good news. Finland tied 0-0 against Kosovo and their lead over the Finns is five points with 15 to play.
– Technical sheet:
0 – Romania: Stefan Lefter; Tony Strata, Matteo Duțu, Mario Tudose, Kevin Ciubotaru; Alin Boțogan (Lorenzo Biliboc, m.68), Cătălin Vulturar (Robert Jalade, m.91); David Matei (Cristian Mihai, m.68), Omar El Sawy (Rares Pop, m.54), Rareș Burnete; y Atanas Trica.
2 – Spain: Salva Esquivel; Fresneda, Mosquera, Jacobo (Jon Martín, m.64), Alex Valle; Chema Andrés (Mario Martín, m.74), Peio Canales, Rodrigo Mendoza (Iker Bravo, m.83); Eliezer Mayenda (Pablo García, m.64), Jesus Rodríguez (Jan Virgili, m.83) and Gonzalo.
Goals: 0-1, min.17: Gonzalo 0-2, min.53: Fresneda.
Referee: Matteo Marchetti (Italy). He admonished Jacobo (m.33) and Chema Andrés (m.63).
Incidents: Match played at the Sibiu Municipal Stadium (Romania) corresponding to the fifth day of Group A of the qualifying phase for the European Under-21 Championship to be played in Serbia and Albania in 2027. Before the start of the match, a minute of silence was observed in memory of former coach Emeric Jenei, who died on November 5.