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A late strike by Danny Welbeck earned England U21s a fortunate 1-1 draw with favourites Spain in their opening European U21 Championship group match at the Herning Stadion, Denmark.
Welbeck seized on a neat pass before placing the ball past Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea in the 87th minute to seal a 1-1 draw.
The goal was not without controversy as replays all suggest that the Sunderland star was offside although very few Spanish players contested the linesman’s decision to allow the strike to stand.
The equalizer came as a relief to manager Stuart Pearce who, for large spells, saw his men outplayed by a technically superior Spanish side featuring the likes of Thiago Alcântara, Javi Martínez and the goalscorer Ander Herrera.
Herrera gave La Roja Furia the lead early in the first half when he headed home a well worked corner as the England defence stood statue-esque.
Minus Jack Wilshere and in front of the on-watching Fabio Capello, England dug in and showed the archetypal ‘British grit’ despite not truly testing De Gea between the Spanish sticks.
Welbeck’s late strike came as a massive relief for U21 boss Stuart Pearce who admitted after the match that his youngsters struggled at various points. Indeed, by the close of play, the Spaniards had enjoyed a whooping 60% of possession.
“If we had the amount of possession they did, the score would have been 4-0 or 5-0 to us,’’ Pearce was quoting as saying by the Telegraph.
“Credit to our players to keep going. We can play a lot better than that technically and individually, and we will do.
“There is no doubt there is spirit in this camp. I know they are never going to give up and will always carry on. We perhaps needed a touch more arrogance when we were on the ball. Credit to Spain; they are a good side and good technically. Historically Spanish teams get their noses in front and show that arrogance they had,” he added.
Catch highlights of the match below:
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