Thiago points to power of Spain spirit

Ahead of his side's UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-final against England, midfielder Thiago Alcántara believes Spain will be difficult to beat, such is the spirit in the camp.

Having reached the last four of this year's tournament on the back of a perfect group campaign in France, La Roja are not short of confidence as they prepare to face England for the first time in a competitive U19 international. "I've never experienced an atmosphere within a group like this," Thiago told UEFA.com. "We want to win this tournament but obviously we first have to win our next match and that's all we're focusing on."

The FC Barcelona player is among familiar company in Basse-Normandie with six other members of the Blaugrana's youth set-up involved with Spain in the ninth edition of the U19 finals. "It's incredible that there are so many of us here but in general the group is magnificent," he said.  "Obviously those of us coming from Barcelona are used to playing together and that makes us feel a bit more comfortable as a group. We all feel like we're equals. We're all in the same boat together and nobody wants to get out."

Despite making six changes to their starting lineup for Saturday's meeting with Italy, the four-time winners played with the same high rhythm and structured approach that brought victory against both Croatia and Portugal. In the end, they ran out comfortable 3-0 victors. "At the very beginning against Italy it was a difficult game, quite tight in fact but after the first goal things opened up for us. It was easier to get into the box and in the end we won well."

Thiago managed to score during his only Liga appearance for Barça last term – a 4-0 home win against Real Racing Club in February – and he was on target again here during his country's opening 2-1 triumph against Croatia. Most likely to occupy one of the holding midfield positions alongside club-mate Oriol Romeu in the semi-final against England, the 19-year-old insists everyone in the team will fully focused at the Stade Louis Villemer, saying: "We approach each game in a serious manner and this time will be no different. It's important for us that we play well. We've got a great team here and whatever the game, we play at a really high level. This team has no limits."