There have been a few upsets so far at the U21 Euros, and Romania were keen to ensure they were the next underdog to cause a seismic upset.
They made the perfect start when Andrei Borza’s raking cross-field pass was plucked out of the sky by Louis Munteanu, who retained his composure when bearing down on goal to lash an effort high into the roof of the net inside the opening five minutes.
However, the Romanians didn’t have it all their own way, and although that wasn’t a great surprise, they shot themselves in the foot when a VAR check confirmed Cesar Tarrega was fouled in the area. Fortunately for them, Mateo Joseph fired his spot-kick wide of the target in what was a huge let-off for the Tricolorii Mici.
True to form, the first half was largely wave after wave of Spanish attack, but it was a set piece that almost yielded an equaliser. Marc Pubill was left unmarked at the far post from a corner, but in another huge let-off for Romania, his volleyed effort bounced away to safety off the crossbar.
Razvan Ionut Rotaru’s men were proving a tough nut to crack, and the fact that they protected their lead for over 40 minutes to go in ahead at half-time was a clear sign that Spain were going to have to find something special to get back into the game.
For all Spain’s legwork, the best chances of the early stages of the second half were manufactured by Romania. Both fell the way of Ovidiu Perianu, who first stumbled in the area and saw his skewed effort cleared off the line by Tarrega, before the same man denied him again with a last-ditch block after the Tricolorii Mici recycled the ball well.
Although two glorious chances fell Romania’s way, La Rojita were still dominating territorially, and they had the woodwork shaking again 20 minutes from time when Raul Moro’s deflected effort was tipped onto the bar by Razvan Sava.
Santi Denia’s men were pushing hard for a leveller in the closing stages, but finding a way past Sava was proving problematic, as Javi Guerra found out when his stinging drive was beaten away by the Romanian stopper.
Their quest was complicated in the closing 10 minutes as Vladislav Blanuta was dismissed for a late challenge on Cristhian Mosquera, and just seconds after the restart, Mikel Jauregizar fired home an effort from all of 30 yards to level the game.
The mood on the Romania bench was a sombre one, as all their hard work was undone in the blink of an eye. The Spanish comeback was complete just three minutes after levelling when Jesus Rodriguez’s teasing delivery was bundled home inside the six-yard box by Roberto Fernandez.
That goal meant that for the second game running, a late show proved decisive for Spain, who are the first team to secure their spot in the last eight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikel Jauregizar (Spain)
