The European Under-21 Championships in Denmark saw all eight teams bidding for a semi-final spot in the third round of group matches, with the home side(***)s game against Scandinavian rivals Iceland sparking passions at the Aalborg Stadium [GALLO/GETTY]
Published On 25 Jun 201125 Jun 2011
Defending champions Germany, who beat England in the 2009 final, were not in the tournament after finishing behind the Icelanders in qualifying [GALLO/GETTY]
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England coach Stuart Pearce lived up to national stereotypes with a soothing cup of tea ahead of his side(***)s crucial Group B match with the Czech Republic [GALLO/GETTY]
England had drawn with Spain and Ukraine and at 1-0 up looked set to qualify before Czech goals in the 89th and 94th minutes dumped them out in Viborg [GALLO/GETTY]
Denmark fared no better, losing 3-1 to Iceland to finish bottom of the group on three points, equal with Belarus and Iceland - who also went out due to an inferior goal difference in a three-way tiebreak between the sides [GALLO/GETTY]
Valencia(***)s Juan Mata put himself in the shop window with two goals for Spain as they beat Ukraine 3-0 to finish top of Group B [GALLO/GETTY]
By finishing top the Spanish avoid a meeting with an impressive Switzerland, who defeated all comers in Group A [GALLO/GETTY]
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Admir Mehmedi of Switzerland celebrates scoring the winning goal in the semi-final as they beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in extra time [GALLO/GETTY]
Spain(***)s Adrian scored a late equaliser to make it 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes against Belarus before adding another 15 minutes into extra time. Jeffren Suarez made sure of a June 25 final against the Swiss by scoring the third [GALLO/GETTY]
Yegor Filipenko of Belarus celebrates scoring his side(***)s 88th-minute winning goal during the third place play-off between the Czech Republic and Belarus. Third position in the tournament gave Belarus a place in the 2012 Olympic Games in London [GALLO/GETTY]
Thiago Alcantara jumps on David de Gea after scoring Spain(***)s second goal in their 2-0 victory over Switzerland in the final. And what a goal it was... Spotting Sommer off his line, the Barcelona midfielder floated the ball over his head from 40 metres out, triggering wild celebrations from the Spanish. The title was Spain(***)s [EPA]
The stars of the future. With young talent like this Spain could be dominating world football for many more years to come [GALLO/GETTY]
