Luis Milla’s side reached the finals of the UEFA U-19 European Championship for the fifth season running as an emphatic win sealed first place in Group 4. Six FC Barcelona youngsters started the game with another on the bench.

Spain swept into the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament for the fifth year in a row with a 4-0 defeat of Azerbaijan in Eskisehir.

Luis Milla’s side needed to win to make sure of edging out mini-tournament hosts Turkey and Norway to claim first place in Group 4, and duly began brightly with Barca duo Rubén Rochina (18) twice and Thiago Alcantara (19) going close in the early exchanges. The opening goal finally arrived in the 29th minute, Rochina holding off two defenders to score, and two minutes later it was 2-0 as the FC Barcelona forward turned in a fine left-wing cross from Daniel Pacheco.

The points were effectively secured in the 36th minute, Thiago earning and converting from the penalty spot after Tural Isgandarov had been penalised, although Spain kept pressing forward in the second period. The fourth goal duly arrived with 20 minutes left, Real Madrid Castilla forward Rodrigo Moreno (19) scoring at the second attempt after Salahat Aghayev had saved his header from Sergio Gontan’s cross. Azerbaijan – who finish in fourth place – ended with ten men after substitute Elgiz Karamli collected a second yellow card in the 86th minute.

“We drew our first match, because all the teams were in good physical condition then,” said Milla, who also led Spain into last summer’s finals in Ukraine. “After that, we’ve played [two] matches when the teams were tired, which is why we beat Azerbaijan by this score. Everything was even until the first goal, and it was important for us to get it as quickly as possible.”

The European U-19 Championships will take place in northern France, from 18th to 30th of July 2010. The qualifying round for the ninth edition of the competition kicks off in September. The top five teams will gain direct entry to the finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup next year.

Starting lineup:
Alex Sanchez (GK, Barca)
Martin Montoya (RB, Barca)
Ramiro Mayor (CB, Zaragoza)
Pullido (CB, Atletico)
Carles Planas (LB, Barca)
Oriol Romeu (DM, Barca)
Isco (AM, Valencia)
Thiago Alcantara (AM, Barca)
Dani Pacheco (FW, Liverpool)
Keko (FW, Atletico)
Ruben Rochina (CF, Barca)

Substitutes:
Ruben Rochina (out) > Rodrigo Moreno (in) (61′)
Keko (out) > Kiko (in) (70′)
Isco (out) > Tello (in) (74′)

Goals:
1-0 Ruben Rochina (29′)
2-0 Ruben Rochina (31′)
3-0 Thiago Alcantara (36′)
4-0 Rodrigo Moreno (70′)

Cautions:
Oriol Romeu (yellow, 90′)

Referee:
Alexandre Kostadinov (BUL)

Coach:
Luis Milla