Spain U21 2–1 Romania U21 Player Ratings: Spain Edge past Romania After a Late Strike by Fernandez in the Euro U21

The Spain U21 National Football Team went head-to-head with Romania National U-21 on 14th June, 2025. Goals from Louis Munteanu, Mike Jauregizar, and Roberto Fernandez promised total entertainment. Read on and check the Spain U21 vs Romania U21 player ratings.

A showdown indeed, as the 3-minute mark showed the first goal in the match as Louis Munteanu's thumping shot was just too much for Iturbe.

Even after the first goal, Spain was still moving the ball with confidence, as they had one more reason to press more. Still, it did not take long for Romania to get a hold of the game. Romania had another chance to double up their lead in the 11th minute, but the Spanish defenders scooped off the danger.

Diego Lopez had a golden chance in the 17th minute to score the equalizer, but his shot was stopped by a Romanian defender as the goalkeeper was beaten. Spain had some good deliveries in the opposition box, but the Romanian defenders were on high alert.

In the 24th minute, Spain was awarded a penalty after a VAR check for a rough challenge came on the opposition's box. Mateo Joseph stepped up to take the spot kick and missed the goal completely, even after sending the goalkeeper in a different direction.

The game was pretty much controlled by Romania in terms of possession and physicality. After the normal 45 minutes, 3 additional minutes were added. The score stood 0-1 in the first half.

Spain had an early chance to equalize in the second half, but the header was wide. Spain was holding a high line after the 50th minute mark. In the 60th minute, a rumble in the Spanish box almost saw Romania double up, but Spain somehow hung on.

Spain created quite a few half-chances, and in the 69th minute, they were the closest to equalize, but it just wasn't happening for the Spanish squad. Both teams started to make subs to turn the game in their favor, and the score stood the same till the 78th minute. Romania almost wrapped it up in the 79th minute, but the shot went a little wide. Blanuta saw a red card in the latter stages of the match. Spain finally equalized in the 85th minute with a goal from the super sub Mike Jauregizar. What a stunning long-range shot! And it followed up with a 2nd in the 87th minute, Roberto Fernandez scored the 2nd goal from a header. After 90 minutes, 6 additional minutes were added. But the score stood 2-1. Here are the Spain U21 National Football Team vs Romania U21 National Football Team Player Ratings.

Spain U21 National Football Team Player Ratings

Goalkeeper

Alejandro Iturbe- 5/10

Alejandro Iturbe tried his best to stop the shot from the Romanian forward, but it was too much power and too good direction for him to prevent the attempt.

Defenders

Marc Pubill- 5/10

Marc Pubill had a great game, especially in the first half when the defender was not at all hesitant going forward. He delivered quite a few dangerous balls in the box that the Spanish forwards failed to convert.

Cesar Tarrega- 5.5/10

Cesar Tarrega was more cautious with the defense line after his team conceded the first goal. Even when he was holding a high line with Mosquera, he made sure to track back quickly to deny any promising build-up.

Cristhian Mosquera- 5.5/10

Like Cesar Tarrega, Cristhian Mosquera had a great game in the first half. However, that is if you exclude the first goal of the match. While there was no obvious fault by him, a lack of awareness of the pitch allowed the goal scorer to have too much space. He was better in the second half.

Hugo Bueno- 6/10

Hugo Bueno had a commanding presence in the defense today. It was his decisive challenge that prevented Romania from getting an early 2-goal lead. He was given the green light to go forward, but he still did his defensive duties well.

Midfielders

Javi Guerra- 5.5/10

Javi Guerra failed to establish early dominance in the midfield along with Benat. However, even after losing the midfield battle against Romania, his ability with the ball posed a lot of threat. Tried a lot of long-range attempts in the second half.

Benat Turrientes- 5.5/10

Benat Turrientes stepped up to take the penalty, which he gave away to Mateo eventually. Had a decent game and was a great midfield peer to Javi Guerra. However, his best game came in the second half.

Pablo Torre- 6/10

Pablo Torre seemed to be the most promising player in the Spanish squad and seemed to be the main man who had the potential to provide the key pass in the final third. However, it did not happen for him in the first half.

Juanlu Sanchez- 5/10

Juanlu Sanchez was one of the active players in the Spanish squad. He posed a lot of threat to the Romanian defenders. However, there were no end products to the chances created.

Diego Lopez- 5.5/10

Diego Lopez would want to forget his first-half performance. Had a good amount of touches but failed to pose much threat to the Romanian defenders. However, the second half was a different story for the winger.

Forwards

Mateo Joseph- 5/10

Mateo Joseph perhaps had the worst first half in the campaign so far. He was not at all involved as much as he would have liked. Though the Romanian defenders had the answers for him, it was expected of him to put up a good show. Missed the penalty in the first half to equalize.

Substitutions

Roberto Fernandez- 4/10

Roberto Fernandez came onto the match at the start of the second half. Pablo Torre was replaced by him. Scored the 2nd goal of the match.

Raul Moro-4/10

Raul Moro came with Fernandez at the beginning of the second half to replace Marc Pubill.

Jesus Rodriguez- 4/10

Jesus Rodriguez came onto the match in the 64th minute as the coach wanted a different result.

Mikel Jauregizar- 4/10

Mikel Jauregizar came Jesus Rodriguez in the 64th minute to try and change Spain's fortune. Scored the equalizer in the 85th minute.

Alberto Moleiro- 4/10

Alberto Moleiro was the last substitution from Spain. He took Mateo Joseph's spot.

Manager

Santi Denia- 5.5/10

Santi Denia made all the subs to try and change the course of the game. It was a below-average performance from his team, and he did not like that at all, even though Spain won the game.

Romania U21 National Football Team Player Ratings

Goalkeeper

Razvan Sava- 6.5/10

Razvan Sava had a total of 21 touches in the first half. He was the better goalkeeper between the two in the match and made sure their 0-1 lead was intact at the end of the first half.

Defenders

Tony Strata- 5.5/10

Tony Strata had a total of 13 touches in the match. He lost all his aerial and ground duels in the first half and lost possession of the ball at least 4 times.

Matei Ilie- 6.5/10

Matei Ilie made a total of 3 clearances in the first 45 minutes, and all of them were crucial to deny Spain the equalizer. He also had a crucial block that denied Spain from scoring the first goal.

Umit Akdag- 6/10

Like his peer Matei Ilie, Umit Akdag had a great first half. Along with his partner, he played a crucial role in keeping the Spanish danger at bay. Had a commanding presence in the defense throughout the first half.

Andrei Borza- 5.5/10

Andrei Borza won 1 out of his 2 ground duels, but he won all his aerial duels. In the first 45 minutes, he made a total of 3 clearances and had a crucial interception.

Midfielders

Ovidiu Perianu- 4.5/10

Ovidiu Perianu was the first person to be booked in the game. The referee gave him a yellow card for his fault. He had a great game in the first half.

Catalin Vulturar- 5.5/10

With Perianu, Catalin Vulturar controlled the tempo of the game since the 8th minute mark. From short passing to helping his defense, he was the key in the midfield.

Constantin Grameni- 6/10

Constantin Grameni was the best in the Romanian midfield today. Controlled the match well and played well alongside his peers in the midfield. He was even better in the second half.

Forwards

Rares Ilie- 5/10

Rares Ilie had a quiet game, unlike his teammates in the front. He had a total of 15 touches in the game and maintained 50% possession. He won all his ground duels in the first half.

Louis Munteanu- 7/10

Louis Munteanu was a threat coming into the match, and it took him just 3 minutes to show why he was. Scored the first goal with a thumping shot that was too much to handle for the keeper.

Octavia Popescu- 5.5/10

Octavia Popescu was great in the wings, and stretching out the Spanish defense wide created more space in the middle for Munteanu, which is how he was able to make the shot in the first half for the goal.

Substitutions

Marius Corbu- 4/10

Marius Corbu came onto the match in the 64th minute to see off the game and make sure they get the 3 points.

Ianis Stoica- 4/10

Ianis Stoica came onto the match in the 68th minute. Popescu was taken off for the substitution.

Cristian Ignat- 4/10

Cristian Ignat came into the match in the 75th minute to take the place of Akdag.

Vladislav Blanuta- 4/10

Vladislav Blanuta came along the match with Cristian Ignat in the 75th minute. The idea was to see the game off. Saw a red card in the 83rd minute.

Manager

Daniel Pancu- 6.5/10

Daniel Pancu was the happier manager between the two when it came to their teams' performances. Made all the right subs to see off the lead. But it was all in vain as in the 85th minute, Spain equalized.

Sportsdunia Player of the Match is Mikel Jauregizar.