Belgium beat Spain with sucker punch

Belgium are on the verge of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship finals after Benito Raman's goal proved enough to beat Spain.

Spain have only once failed to qualify at this level in more than 20 years but in the meeting of the two Matchday 1 winners in elite round Group 4, Belgium prevailed. A point against mini-tournament hosts Northern Ireland on Monday would ensure a finals pace in Liechtenstein from 18 to 30 May.

Within the first few minutes Spain striker Suso had shot over and José Goméz's free-kick had been tipped on to the bar by Belgium goalkeeper Sven Dhoest, but the half ended goalles. In the second period Francisco Alcácer almost caught out Dhoest but his shot from 20 metres was just tipped away by the keeper. While those chances went begging, Belgium won the game from their first real chance as Raman outpaced two defenders to finish off a swift counterattack.

Dhoest said: "The first half was very difficult, we played well but needed to calm down to counterattack properly. We started the second half better and I made two good saves, and then Benito scored. I had a very good feeling before this match, I blocked all the balls and I'm very happy with my performance."

After Northern Ireland beat Poland 1-0, Belgium were no longer abke to qualify with a game to spare but a point on Monday would take them through. Spain must beat Poland and hope Belgium lose.