Under 19 European championship

Spain completed the formalities in their Elite round qualifying group, beating hosts Armenia 2-4 in the last match to finish with maximum points. Already assured of first place, Ginés Meléndez used the occasion to try out his reserve players. But they were caught out early on, the locals taking a two goal lead with strikes from Voskanyan and Gyozalyan. Racing's Iván Bolado got one back though on the stroke of half time, and the youngsters drew level when Antonyan put through his own net just four minutes after the restart. It was not until the final minutes that they were able to win the match however, Real Sociedad's Fran Mérida scoring twice in the last five minutes. (27.05.08)

Spain are already qualified for the under 19 European finals after beating Turkey 3-0 in their second Elite Group match. All the goals came after the break, Real Madrid's Dani Parejo opening the scoring with a free kick just two minutes after the restart. Nsue and César Ortíz both headed against the bar soon afterwards, but De Gea had to save a penalty before Nsue set up Racing's Iván Bolado for a second on the hour mark. And Atlético's Camacho completed the scoreline with a third following a corner near the end to ensure top spot of their group irrespective of the result in the last game against hosts Armenia on Tuesday. (24.05.08)

A week after Spain's under 17 side won the European Championship, the under 19 team kicked off their Elite Round qualifiers with a 3-1 win against Ukraine. The East Europeans went ahead with a Yermolenko penalty on the quarter hour mark, but Mallorca's Emilio Nsue equalised soon afterwards. Aarón Ñiguez put the youngsters ahead after good work by Dani Parejo midway through the second half, and Nsue wrapped things up with his second of the night in injury time. Spain play Turkey in a couple of days time, and then go on to meet hosts Armenia in their last group match. (22.05.08)