Contents

Spain national under-23 football team

Spain Olympics

Nickname(s)	La Roja (The Red One) La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)[1]
Association	Royal Spanish Football Federation (Real Federación Española de Fútbol – RFEF)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Santi Denia
Most caps	Luis Enrique (14)
Top scorer	Kiko (7)
FIFA code	ESP
First colours Second colours
First international
Yugoslavia 3–0 Spain  (Novi Sad, Yugoslavia; 18 June 1969)
Biggest win
Spain 5–0 Libya  (El Ejido, Spain; 1 July 2005)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 4–0 Spain  (Birmingham, United States; 27 July 1996) Records for competitive matches only.
Olympic Games
Appearances	5 (first in 1992)
Best result	Gold medalists (1992)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1997)
Best result	Gold medalists (2005, 2009, 2018)
Medal record Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Team 1920 Antwerp Team[2] 2000 Sydney Team 2020 Tokyo Team Mediterranean Games 2005 Almería Team 2009 Pescara Team 2018 Tarragona Team 1955 Barcelona Team 1963 Naples Team 1967 Tunis Team

The Spain Olympic football team (also known as Spain Under-23, or Spain U-23) represents Spain in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except for the Olympics which allows the men's team up to three overage players. The team is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Having qualified for five Olympic competitions since 1992, Spain has won one gold medal (1992) and two silver medals (2000 and 2020). It is one of the most successful Olympic teams.

History[edit]

1920–1988 Summer Olympics[edit]

Unlike later tournaments, the Summer Olympics used to be represented by senior or amateur teams. Spain's first participation in the Olympics was in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. Fourteen teams entered the competition which was organized on a knockout basis. Twelve teams entered the first round, with the six winners joining the host nation (Belgium) and France, in the quarter-finals. Czechoslovakia, participating in their first international tournament, cruised to the final, inflicting heavy defeats on Yugoslavia (who played their first ever international match in the competition), Norway, and France. Belgium beat a talented Spain and then the Netherlands on their way to the final. Belgium won the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off in protest during the final, unhappy with the performance of the English referee, John Lewis. The Bergvall System was used to determine second and third places. The beaten quarter-finalists played-off, Spain emerged triumphant overcoming Sweden 2–1 and Italy 2–0. Ordinarily, Spain would then have played the beaten finalists, but Czechoslovakia had been disqualified from the tournament. Spain thus advanced straight to the silver medal match against Holland, beaten in the semi-finals by gold medallists Belgium. Spain won 3–1.

1924 was not as successful, Spain bowed out of competition in the first round after losing to Italy 1–0.

At the 1928 Summer Olympics things would go from good to worse. Spain were, potentially, much to be feared. Defeated once since the last Olympic Games tournament their traditional tournament nerves would handicap them here, a key note that would strike throughout the coming years. The unavoidable loss of their experienced captain Pedro Vallana after their first game, though, would cost them dearly. Spain started with a 7–1 win over Mexico, then a 1–1 draw against Italy which would cause the match to go on a reply. There Spain were eventually eliminating with a 1–7 defeat.

Spain would not compete in another Olympic tournament until the 1968 edition held in Mexico. There the team fielded an under-21 amateur squad and reached the quarter-finals, losing only to the host nation. Meanwhile, communist nations entered their top professional teams using a loophole in the rules.

The team's final two tournaments came in 1976 and 1980, where they failed to make it out of the group stage, being powerless against first teams of the Eastern Bloc.

Debut and Gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics[edit]

The football competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics was the first under-23 competition. Spain were awarded a place at the tournament because they were the host nation. Expectations were high for the Spanish team and they did not disappoint: The team was able to win their first gold medal after winning their group stage, defeating long-time rivals Italy in the quarter-finals and lastly Poland in the finals, 3–2.

1996 Summer Olympics[edit]

Spain were able to qualify for the following Olympics, managed by then coach Javier Clemente. La Rojita failed to repeat their past success and were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Argentina.

Silver at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney[edit]

Spain qualified for their third consecutive tournament in 2000. The squad, managed by head coach Iñaki Sáez, reached their second final but were not able to take gold, losing to Cameroon. Spain had a 2–0 lead at half time but things changed in the second half when an own goal from Iván Amaya (who also missed a penalty), and a goal from Samuel Eto'o five minutes later, levelled the scores at 2–2. The score was unchanged after extra time and the match was decided via penalty shootout, with Spain losing 5–3.

2012 Summer Olympics[edit]

After eight years without participation, Spain qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics after winning the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under head coach Luis Milla. They were scheduled to play against Japan, Morocco and Honduras in the group stage. Before the start of the tournament, Spain scheduled three friendly matches against teams that would be competing at the Olympics: The first was a 3–1 victory over Egypt, followed by a 2–0 defeat against Senegal and a 1–0 victory over Mexico five days later. At the Olympics, Spain was eliminated in the group stage after falling shockingly 1–0 to Japan and a controversial loss to Honduras. This was followed by a 0–0 draw to Morocco, forcing Spain's exit from the tournament at the group stage for the first time, and without scoring a single goal. Luis Milla was sacked from both the under-23 and under-21 teams the following day and replaced by Julen Lopetegui.

Silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Tokyo[edit]

Spain qualified to the 2020 Olympics after winning the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Six Spanish players: Unai Simón, Pau Torres, Eric García, Pedri, Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo who had participated in the UEFA Euro 2020 played a major role for Spain in the 2020 Olympics under coach Luis de la Fuente. La Rojita reached the final, but they lost 2–1 against Brazil after extra time.^[3]

Results and fixtures[edit]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2024[edit]

Spain v United States

18 July Friendly	Spain	v	United States	Bordeaux, France
--:-- UTC+2				Stadium: Stade de Bordeaux

Uzbekistan v Spain

24 July 2024 Olympic Games GS	Uzbekistan	v	Spain	Paris, France
15:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Parc des Princes

Dominican Republic v Spain

27 July 2024 Olympic Games GS	Dominican Republic	v	Spain	Bordeaux, France
15:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Stade de Bordeaux

Spain v Egypt

30 July 2024 Olympic Games GS	Spain	v	Egypt	Bordeaux, France
15:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Stade de Bordeaux

Records[edit]

Most capped players[edit]

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-23s.

Top goalscorers[edit]

Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-23s.

• Caps and goals correct as of 7 August 2021.

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players were named to the squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.^[4]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Joan García	(2001-05-04) 4 May 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Espanyol
	1GK	Arnau Tenas	(2001-05-30) 30 May 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Paris Saint-Germain
	1GK	Alejandro Iturbe	(2003-09-02) 2 September 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Atlético Madrid
	2DF	Eric García	(2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 (age 23)	7	0	Girona
	2DF	Juan Miranda	(2000-01-19) 19 January 2000 (age 24)	5	0	Real Betis
	2DF	Jon Pacheco	(2001-01-08) 8 January 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Real Sociedad
	2DF	Miguel Gutiérrez	(2001-07-27) 27 July 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Girona
	2DF	Marc Pubill	(2003-06-20) 20 June 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Almería
	2DF	Juanlu Sánchez	(2003-08-15) 15 August 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Sevilla
	2DF	Cristhian Mosquera	(2004-06-27) 27 June 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Valencia
	2DF	Pau Cubarsí	(2007-01-22) 22 January 2007 (age 17)	0	0	Barcelona
	3MF	Adrián Bernabé	(2001-05-26) 26 May 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Parma
	3MF	Álex Baena*	(2001-07-20) 20 July 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Villarreal
	3MF	Aimar Oroz	(2001-11-27) 27 November 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Osasuna
	3MF	Beñat Turrientes	(2002-01-31) 31 January 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Real Sociedad
	3MF	Pablo Barrios	(2003-06-15) 15 June 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Atlético Madrid
	4FW	Abel Ruiz	(2000-01-28) 28 January 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Braga
	4FW	Sergio Gómez	(2000-09-04) 4 September 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Manchester City
	4FW	Sergio Camello	(2001-02-10) 10 February 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Rayo Vallecano
	4FW	Diego López	(2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Valencia
	4FW	Fermín López*	(2003-05-11) 11 May 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Barcelona
	4FW	Samu Omorodion	(2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Alavés

Players who were also called up for Euro 2024 are marked with asterisk (*).

Overage players in Olympic Games[edit]

Honours[edit]

Summer Olympics

• Gold medalists (1): 1992
• Silver medalists (3): 1920, 2000, 2020

Competitive record[edit]

Summer Olympics[edit]

Rules (UEFA)

• 1900–1904: club teams ^[5][6]
• 1908–1988: amateur / youth national teams ^{[note 1][note 2]}
• 1992: u-23 national teams^[6][7]
• 1996–present: u-23 national teams (with three 'no age limit' players allowed, after an agreement between FIFA and OIC)^[6][7]

Note

• No tournament held in 1932

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

**Since 1968, Spain has sent its under-23 national team.

UEFA European Under-23 Challenge Cup[edit]

This was competed for on a basis similar to a boxing title belt. The holders played a randomly chosen opponent for the championship.

Date	Winners	Runners-up	Venue
18 June 1969	Yugoslavia	Spain	Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

UEFA European Under-23 Championship[edit]

Mediterranean Games[edit]

Mediterranean Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2005	Gold medalists	1st	4	3	1	0	9	1
Total	1 Gold medal	1/1	4	3	1	0	9	1

See also[edit]

• Spain national football team
• Spain national under-21 football team
• Spain national under-20 football team
• Spain national under-19 football team
• Spain national under-18 football team
• Spain national under-17 football team
• Spain national under-16 football team
• Spain national under-15 football team
• Spain national youth football team

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• siemprecantera (in Spanish)
• Tournament archiveatuefa.com
• UEFA U-23 European Championshipatrsssf