Gómez thrives in Spain's family atmosphere

Spain defender Sergi Gómez highlighted the family atmosphere within the squad as the driving force behind La Rojita's 5-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship semi-final.

Ginés Meléndez's side set up a meeting with the Czech Republic on Monday with a comfortable triumph in Chiajna, Gerard Deulofeu, Pablo Sarabia and Juanmi giving them a three-goal lead before Álvaro Morata's late double. Yet despite taking their tournament tally to 13 goals at the Stadionul Concordia, Gómez admitted his side took time to find their rhythm.

"At the beginning it was quite difficult; Ireland play a type of football that can sometimes be tricky to break down," the FC Barcelona centre-back told UEFA.com. "They were in very good physical condition but after the opening 20 minutes we responded and began to control the game. We created a lot of chances up front and didn't concede, which was also important."

A product of Barcelona's youth system, Gómez – who featured in the senior team's Spanish Super Cup success against Sevilla FC last season – said that developing friendships with the rest of his Spain team-mates had been one of the highlights of his time in the set-up. "I've always said that this group is very united; we've been together for years now," he explained. "We all originally got together playing for the U16s. We are more than just a group; we are a family. Outside the football scene we call each other and meet up. You can see that closeness out on the pitch and in the joyful nature with which we play."

Spain's senior side have swept all before them in the last few years while their Under-21 squad recently added their UEFA European Championship to the trophy cabinet, but rather than worrying about emulating those achievements, Gómez prefers to believe that hard work brings its own rewards. "We can't call this pressure; we see it more that if you do things well, you will get what you deserve," he said. "The senior team and the U21s did very well while the U19s got to the final of this tournament last year. From the beginning our ideas have been very clear and we're especially eager to play the final now."

Gómez now predicts a tricky encounter for the four-time winners against a Czech team with a 100% record in the competition to date. "We are all obviously very happy now but there is still one more game to come against the Czech Republic," he said. "It won't be easy as they have won all four of their games here. You don't get to a final with that sort of record for nothing. We're not that up to speed on them at the moment but we will be come game time; we know it won't be easy."