A goal from the Leeds striker served to defeat Scotland (1-2) on the way to Euro 2025
MADRID, 6 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s football team won 2-1 on Friday in their visit to Scotland, with goals from Dean Huijsen and Mateo Joseph, thus resolving their seventh match in Group B of the qualifying phase for the U-21 European Championship, which in 2025 will be held in Slovakia.
At Edinburgh’s Tynecastle Park, Santi Denia’s men took control of the ball from the opening whistle. As a result, eight regular players were absent from the Scottish team, so their coach Scot Gemmill laid out a strict defensive plan.
With Samu Omorodion starting ahead of a back three, Spain tirelessly sought out the Porto striker with crosses from both flanks into the heart of the area. But the home defence stood in the way of almost every attempt at control or header.
In Scotland’s goal, Cieran Slicker had little work to do, but in front of him, Alejandro Iturbe was a luxury spectator of what was happening on the pitch. Despite this, the Atlético de Madrid player reacted well to a long-range shot from Leon King in the 36th minute.
The almost immediate response came with two chances for Pablo Torre, first with his left foot and then with his right, but both shots were repelled by the rival defence and the ball was sent to the corner. Later, Omorodion had a slalom that culminated with a low right-footed shot without luck.
Just before the break, the Porto striker himself sent a shot wide with his right boot, after a cross into the area from Álvaro Carreras from the left flank. After the restart, the ‘Rojita’ continued to dominate and in the 55th minute Torre caused Slicker problems.
The Scottish goalkeeper made a brilliant save from mid-air and began to take centre stage from the 59th minute. However, he could do little about Huijsen’s header from point-blank range. It all started after a set piece, from a Torre cross from the left flank.
The home side’s response took just three minutes, with a one-two between Josh Mulligan and Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen, which Mulligan himself extended with a low pass to Adedire Mebude, who got behind Huijsen and scored with a quick shot after Iturbe had come out wrong.
The hornet’s nest had been stirred up and that led to the 1-2 in the 69th minute, when Juanlu Sánchez opened play towards the right side and Hugo Novoa put the ball on the ground a metre in front of the penalty spot; that’s when Mateo Joseph appeared, having just entered the field, to beat Slicker with a strong and unmitigated right-footed shot from below.
The Leeds United player came to Spain’s rescue once again, having scored the winning goal on 26 March against Belgium. In this match, following the 1-2 draw against Scotland, the ‘Rojita’ came to life and a shot from Beñat Turrientes from outside the area forced Slicker to make another great save to clear the ball.
Although Gemmill made more substitutions in the face of the challenge of coming back, Denia’s men showed their mettle and dispelled any ghosts in the final stretch of the match. However, David Watson forced a corner in stoppage time and Scotland got close to Iturbe’s goal with a header.
That action did not lead to anything serious, the ‘Rojita’ secured another victory in this qualifying phase and strengthened its leadership of the group, now with 19 points in its baggage. For its part, the Scottish team remains in second place with 13 points, the same as Belgium in third place.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–RESULT: SCOTLAND, 1 – SPAIN, 2 (0-0, at half-time).
–LINEUPS.
ESCOCIA: Slicker; Chilokoa-Mullen, Murray, Neilson, Anderson; Mulligan, King (Watson, min.66), Kelly; Ramsay (Miller, min.56), Cameron (Wilson, min.76) y Bowie (Mebude, min.56).
SPAIN: Iturbe; Juanlu, Cubarsí, Huijsen, Carreras; Turrientes, Nico (Guerra, min.76); Novoa, Diego Lopez (Miller, min.66), Torre (Veiga, min.76); and Omorodion (Mateo Joseph, min.66).
–GOALS:
0-1, min.59: Huijsen.
1-1, min.62: Mebude.
1-2, min.69: Mateo Joseph.
–REFEREE: Jakob Sundberg (DIN). He gave yellow cards to Anderson (min.53), Chilokoa-Mullen (min.75) and Watson (min.80) for Scotland.
–STADIUM: Tynecastle Park (Edinburgh), 3,607 spectators.