Parejo still positive after Spain's Belarus stalemate

Spain goalscorer Daniel Parejo said that although Monday's draw with Belarus left a "bittersweet taste in the mouth", the Roja remain confident about this summer's UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Denmark.

Parejo's second-half free-kick opened the scoring for Luis Milla's side in an entertaining encounter at the Estadio Virgen del Val in Alcala de Henares, yet fellow U21 finalists Belarus fought back to equalise through substitute Dmitri Rekish.

"We only managed a draw despite controlling large parts of the game," the Getafe CF midfielder said. "We knew Belarus were going to be tough opponents and that's how it turned out. Maybe they don't have a squad full of stars but they showed here that they have more than enough talent. They can play very well."

Following an even first half short on chances, Spain's fortunes changed after the break with the introduction of creative midfielders Iker Muniain and Thiago Alcántara. The hosts' increasingly fluid attacking play led to the set piece from which Parejo scored his fifth goal in 14 outings at this level.

"I suppose Spain are not famed for their dead-ball specialists but I'm just happy my goal helped the team," the 21-year-old former Real Madrid CF trainee said. "What's more important is that we kept the ball well. Spanish football is based on stroking the ball around and that's the style we'll be taking into the European Championship. Here's hoping we can give a good showing in Denmark."

Spain will open their finals campaign against England on 12 June, a day after Belarus begin by taking on Iceland. According to visiting forward Maksim Skavysh, a draw against one of the pre-tournament favourites is further proof of what Georgi Kondratyev's team are capable of.

"I really enjoyed that as I have wanted to play against Spain for a long time," the FC BATE Borisov striker said. "We have very high hopes going into the finals and we will play to win every game – I'm sure good results will follow."