Spanish spot-kings sink Denmark

Spain withstood a dramatic Danish comeback to progress to the semi-finals of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship via a penalty shoot-out.

Spanish dominance
Spain went into the match as favourites and asserted their authority almost immediately. Jonas Troest misjudged a long ball in the opening minute to leave Jaime Gavilán with only Kasper Ambrosen to beat. The keeper forced him wide and Roberto Soldado was only centimetres wide after Gavilán had laid the ball back.

Early advantage
Denmark gradually worked their way into the match and almost grabbed the opening goal when Johan Absalonsen fired just wide of the target from Dennis Calgara's corner. Spain's passing caused problems for the Danish midfield and they took the lead when Jonathan Soriano found Roberto and he scored with a header to give Spain the advantage after 19 minutes.

Attacking rhythm
Juan Santisteban's Spanish side enjoyed the majority of possession during the first half and, when the Danes did finally get hold of the ball, the gap between midfield and attack was too wide to allow the hosts to establish an attacking rhythm.

Gavilán strike
Spain extended their lead after 29 minutes when Absalonsen lost possession, allowing Gavilán to score from long range and give the Spaniards a comfortable advantage at the interval.

Spain sit back
Spain seemed content to sit back at the start of the second half and only hit Denmark on the counterattack. That gave the Danes the initiative but they failed to turn their physical dominance into chances against a well-organised Spanish rearguard. However, Denmark showed plenty of resilience and reduced the deficit when William Jørgensen rose above three Spanish defenders to head in a 56th-minute free-kick from Cagara.

Comeback complete
Denmark's goal signalled a frantic finish and the hosts threw everything they had at Spain in a bid to find an equaliser. They did just that three minutes from time, as a quick counterattack saw Rune Lind cross for Jeppe Brandrup to beat Cecilio Nauzet Perez with a diving header.

Zimling miss
The final whistle meant that penalty kicks would be necessary to separate the teams. Spain only missed once, through Aitor Martinez, and Santisteban's side could celebrate when Niki Zimling missed Denmark's crucial second penalty of the night.

'Thought it was over '
Santisteban is looking forward to the semi-finals but admitted that Denmark's comeback had caught them by surprise. "My players thought it was all over at half-time," he said. "That sometimes happens with players at this level and we have to learn from that. We beat France 2-0 in a tournament last month but for me it is also okay if we have to play Germany in the semi-finals."

'More chances'
Despite the defeat, Danish coach Hans Brun-Larsen was satisfied with his players' performance. "We looked shaky at the beginning and were below our best in the first half," he said. "But we worked ourselves back into the match in brilliant fashion and created more chances overall. We have learned a lot from this tournament, where my players have been under a lot more pressure than usual from the media and on the pitch."