Azpilicueta out to prove a point

Spain's performances on the pitch thus far at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship may have lacked intent but there was plenty of purpose in the words of César Azpilicueta as he told uefa.com of the Iberians' determination to "show what we're capable of" when they take on Finland on Monday.

'Still have hope'
Spain go into that concluding Group B fixture needing a victory, an England triumph against Germany and a four-goal swing to join Stuart Pearce's side in the semi-finals. A tall order, certainly, but not impossible according to Azpilicueta, who started Thursday's 2-0 loss to England after failing to make it off the bench in the goalless opener against the Germans. "We still have a hope and have to fight to the end," the CA Osasuna defender told uefa.com.

'Positive result'
"We have to play our part and hope for another positive result from the other game which would give us a ticket through. Logic would suggest England want to qualify as group winners as this will mean they can keep their hotel and training base which is important. We're all perfectly aware that we haven't performed to the levels we expected to but if we get knocked out it's not going to be because we haven't tried to get through."

'Mistakes'
Azpilicueta knows all about success on the international stage having won the U19 version of these finals in 2007, and can pinpoint exactly why the current squad find themselves on the verge of elimination: "We've made lots of mistakes, we've hardly created any chances and Spain are renowned for scoring goals. We've hardly had any shots on target in the two games and we have to admit to that. Our two opponents have had it easy against us."

Experience
The 19-year-old made his Osasuna debut in 2007 and already has over 60 Liga appearances to his name, including 36 in the last campaign when his club avoided relegation on the final day of the season. Another scrap is not what he expected. "We came here with a lot of enthusiasm and to see our chances of making it through severely reduced hurts," continued Azpilicueta. "It was tough to even get this far but we [qualified] in epic style and wanted to do well."

'Magnificent group'
Spain were pushed to the limit in their play-off against Switzerland, needing an equaliser five minutes into added time and an extra-time winner to finally emerge triumphant – they will need similar resolve at the Gamla Ullevi. "We have a magnificent group of players," Azpilicueta said. "We've gone through two tough years of qualifiers and some of us won't be playing together at national-team level again – that's perfect motivation for the last game."