Spain's under 21 side are virtually sure of a place in next summer's European finals after a crushing 5-0 victory over Denmark in the first leg of the play-off round. The hero of the night was undoubtedly Rodrigo, the Benfica striker scoring four of the goals, including three in a six minute period midway through the first half. There were a few nervous moments early on when De Gea had to make a couple of saves from Larsen, but when Rodrigo produced some deadly finishing following assists by Tello, Isco and Muniain, the match was already over. Twenty minutes in to the second half Rodrigo was there again to round off a rapid counter-attack, and Málaga's Isco got the fifth from the penalty spot later on after he was pulled back in the area by Fenger. It could have been even more when Sarabia got the ball in the net near the end only to be pulled up for a borderline offside, but with a such a big gap, next Tuesday's return leg will be little more than a formality. (11.10.12)