Pichu perfect for Spain
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Article summary
Poland 0-1 Spain A first-half header from Pichu, his second goal in two games, confirmed Spain's place in the finals with a 100 per cent record.
Article body
Spain made sure of their place in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship with a 1-0 defeat of Poland thanks to a first-half header from Pichu.
Point enough
Juan Santisteban's side, who finished third in the 2005/06 edition, had won their first two Group 7 mini-tournament games in Almuñecar, defeating Switzerland 1-0 and Sweden 3-1 but knew they could not afford to lose against Poland. A draw would have been enough to confirm their place in Belgium for the May finals but in the end Spain made it three wins from three.
Lively mood
The Spanish were always out for the victory and twice went close to scoring before Pichu jumped unrivalled just after the half-hour to head past Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for his second goal in as many games. Bojan Krkić and Fran Mérida were in lively mood for Spain and Pichu could have added to his tally while Ignacio Camacho also went close. In the group's other match, Switzerland sealed second place with six points, three more than Poland, with a 3-1 defeat of last-placed Sweden, who lost all three of their fixtures.
