Netherlands working hard to shock Spain

Respect
Stuivenberg, in his second season at the helm, is facing a coach aiming for a sixth European title at this level. "We have a lot of respect for Santisteban," Stuivenberg told uefa.com. "He is a coach who plays attractive football, that's also what we want to do in our culture. We are already happy to be here, we will do our best to give them a tough fight and will do our best to surprise their coach, with all his success."

High standard
Spain topped Group B as a 2-0 win against Switzerland and 3-1 defeat of the Republic of Ireland sandwiched the 3-3 draw with France which gave goosebumps to Stuivenberg, whose side were runners-up in Group A after bouncing back from losing 3-0 to Turkey by beating Serbia 1-0 and Scotland 2-0. "We are proud to be in the semi-finals but it is a great challenge for us," Stuivenberg said. "We've seen Spain play France, sometimes I wondered if I was watching U17s or an adult football game because of the high tempo and the skilful players."

Squad game
Santisteban has traditionally shuffled his teams during these tournaments and this season is no exception. Sergi led the line in the first game and scored twice, only to be replaced by Rubén for the France encounter; Sergi was then restored against Ireland only for Rubén to take over in the second half, score twice and make another."We always try to be in control in the first half and have the ball and pass," Santisteban said. "Then in the second half when players tire we try to pass as much as we can as we have good players like Sergi, Keko and Rubén, so that's the way we play."

Netherlands strength
Since the change to U17 classification in 2001/02, Santisteban has lost two semi-finals, edged through another pair including last season's shoot-out triumph against hosts Belgium – only in 2003 was their 5-2 win against Austria a comfortable result at this stage. And Santisteban expects another tough encounter. "They are physically and technically strong so it will be a difficult challenge for us and I hope we will win the semi-final," he said.

Sneijder advice
However, the Netherlands do have one inside track – playmaker Rodney Sneijder's brother Wesley, who played in the 2001 U16 finals and is now at Santisteban's former club Real Madrid CF. "Wesley said that we need to defend tightly," his younger sibling said. "We shouldn't allow Spain space to play football, because that is when they are at their best."

• Spain players one booking from suspension: Rubén

• Netherlands players one booking from suspension: Jordy Classie, Youness Mokthar