Lopetegui and Spain in finals countdown

With Saturday signalling the final round of games in the Spanish top flight, Spain coach Julen Lopetegui was able to rest easy on Sunday, knowing that his 23 charges for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship had all come through the weekend's action relatively unscathed.

The defending champions face a stern test at the finals – which kick off in Netanya on Wednesday – but the former UEFA European U19 Championship-winning coach expects the make-up of La Rojita's squad to serve the team well ahead of Group B encounters with Russia, Germany and the Netherlands.

"We are side with balance, which is something we were looking for with our squad selection," Lopetegui said. "We have players with differing styles who can adapt to playing various positions and who can fit into our way of playing. We are going into the tournament looking to be as much of a team as we possibly can be. We have full confidence in this group of players; they fill us with hope. Having said that, we know that we will have to do our talking on the pitch."

Following in the footsteps of the senior national team – winners of UEFA EURO 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2012 – the 2011 U21 champions and their coach know what is expected of them in Israel.

"We want to be the protagonists, to have the ball and to take the initiative," the former Real Madrid CF, CD Logroñes, FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid goalkeeper said. "In order to do that, we need a specific style and a particular type of player who can implement or even improve on [that way of playing]."

The 46-year-old kept a keen eye on domestic proceedings at the weekend, tracking the status of Iker Muniain (calf) and forward Álvaro Vázquez (ankle), who have both been carrying knocks. "Iker has been working with our physios, but everyone seems to be in good condition," Lopetegui explained. "There are players coming into the squad from clubs carrying the various burdens [of demanding competitions]."

Spain open their challenge against Russia on Thursday, an encounter Lopetegui expects will present his side with difficulties. "They are a very physical team and one with an excellent counterattack," he said. "This generation is very interesting and the group is reinforced with players like [Alan] Dzagoev, [Aleksandr] Zotov, [Fedor] Smolov. There are four or five players who are regulars with Fabio Capello [the senior team coach]."

Of Germany, Spain's second Group B opponents, Lopetegui added, "They are one of the finest generations that Germany have produced at this level in recent years." Spain finish the section with a game against the Netherlands – "a team that contains 12 players who have competed at senior international level", as Lopetegui explained.

"Teams with big reputations have qualified for this tournament; the only sides missing are France and Portugal. A lot of the teams here are reinforced by players from their senior sides as they are not competing right now."

With speculation continuing to mount as to who will make Lopetegui's starting XI on Thursday, the coach was in no mood to offer clues, however. "Every player here with us is worthy of a starting berth."