The Spain Olympic football team (also known as Spain Under-23, or Spain U-23) represents Spain in international football competitions in the Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except for the Olympics which allows the men's team up to three overage players. The team is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Having qualified for six Olympic competitions since 1992, Spain has won two gold medals (1992 and 2024) and two silver medals (2000 and 2020).
History
1920–1988 Summer Olympics
Unlike later tournaments, the Summer Olympics used to be represented by senior or amateur teams. Spain's first participation in the Olympics was in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1920. Fourteen teams entered the competition which was organized on a knockout basis. Twelve teams entered the first round, with the six winners joining the host nation (Belgium) and France, in the quarter-finals. Czechoslovakia, participating in their first international tournament, cruised to the final, inflicting heavy defeats on Yugoslavia (who played their first ever international match in the competition), Norway, and France. Belgium beat a talented Spain and then the Netherlands on their way to the final. Belgium won the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off in protest during the final, unhappy with the performance of the English referee, John Lewis. The Bergvall System was used to determine second and third places. The beaten quarter-finalists played-off, Spain emerged triumphant overcoming Sweden 2–1 and Italy 2–0. Ordinarily, Spain would then have played the beaten finalists, but Czechoslovakia had been disqualified from the tournament. Spain thus advanced straight to the silver medal match against Holland, beaten in the semi-finals by gold medallists Belgium. Spain won 3–1.
1924 was not as successful, Spain bowed out of competition in the first round after losing to Italy 1–0.
At the 1928 Summer Olympics things would go from good to worse. Spain were, potentially, much to be feared. Defeated once since the last Olympic Games tournament their traditional tournament nerves would handicap them here, a key note that would strike throughout the coming years. The unavoidable loss of their experienced captain Pedro Vallana after their first game, though, would cost them dearly. Spain started with a 7–1 win over Mexico, then a 1–1 draw against Italy which would cause the match to go on a reply. There Spain were eventually eliminating with a 1–7 defeat.
Spain would not compete in another Olympic tournament until the 1968 edition held in Mexico. There the team fielded an under-21 amateur squad and reached the quarter-finals, losing only to the host nation. Meanwhile, communist nations entered their top professional teams using a loophole in the rules.
The team's final two tournaments came in 1976 and 1980, where they failed to make it out of the group stage, being powerless against first teams of the Eastern Bloc.
Debut and Gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics
The football competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics was the first under-23 competition. Spain were awarded a place at the tournament because they were the host nation. Expectations were high for the Spanish team and they did not disappoint: The team was able to win their first gold medal after winning their group stage, defeating long-time rivals Italy in the quarter-finals and lastly Poland in the finals, 3–2.
1996 Summer Olympics
Spain were able to qualify for the following Olympics, managed by then coach Javier Clemente. La Rojita failed to repeat their past success and were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Argentina.
Silver at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney
Spain qualified for their third consecutive tournament in 2000. The squad, managed by head coach Iñaki Sáez, reached their second final but were not able to take gold, losing to Cameroon. Spain had a 2–0 lead at half time but things changed in the second half when an own goal from Iván Amaya (who also missed a penalty), and a goal from Samuel Eto'o five minutes later, levelled the scores at 2–2. The score was unchanged after extra time and the match was decided via penalty shootout, with Spain losing 5–3.
2012 Summer Olympics
After eight years without participation, Spain qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics after winning the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship under head coach Luis Milla. They were scheduled to play against Japan, Morocco and Honduras in the group stage. Before the start of the tournament, Spain scheduled three friendly matches against teams that would be competing at the Olympics: The first was a 3–1 victory over Egypt, followed by a 2–0 defeat against Senegal and a 1–0 victory over Mexico five days later. At the Olympics, Spain was eliminated in the group stage after falling shockingly 1–0 to Japan and a controversial loss to Honduras. This was followed by a 0–0 draw to Morocco, forcing Spain's exit from the tournament at the group stage for the first time, and without scoring a single goal. Luis Milla was sacked from both the under-23 and under-21 teams the following day and replaced by Julen Lopetegui.
Back to back finalist and Gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics – France
Spain qualified to the 2024 edition of the Olympics as the current U-21 European champions. They entered the competition as one of the heavy favorites to win it. Spain started off their campaign with a 2–1 victory over one of the debutants Uzbekistan, despite a missed Spanish penalty. This was followed by a 3–1 win over the other Olympics debutants Dominican Republic. After securing their place to the quarterfinals, Spain rested some of their key players for the third match against Egypt, which the lost 2–1 thus going to the quarterfinals as the second placed team from their group. In the quarterfinals Spain faced off against the other favorite Japan in what was expected to be a tough match for the Spaniards as Japan had won all their group stage games, and had victory against Argentina (5–2) before the start of the tournament. But this was not to be the case, as the Spaniards ran rampant on their opponents, defeating them 3–0 to advance to the semifinals for a second time in a row. At their semifinal game, they faced Morocco, a team the Spaniards have had somewhat of a problem defeating in recent years and who eliminated Spain in A selection on penalties at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Although they fell behind at half time 1–0 following an opponent's penalty kick, Spain was able to turn the game around, and in dominant fashion defeated their African counterparts 2–1 to advance to their second consecutive final. In the final, they beat hosts France 5-3 after extra time, in a match that has been described by many as the best Olympic finals. Thus after 32 years, Spain was able to win their second gold medal and completing the double after the senior team won the European trophy a month prior.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation was founded in 1913. Thus from 1900-1914 Spain did not participate at the Olympic tournaments.
Spain has participated in twelve tournaments at the Summer Olympics. In their first ever participation, Spain achieved a silver medal. It would take Spain seventy-two years for them to achieve another medal at the Olympics, when they hosted the tournament in 1992 Summer Olympics. They defeated Poland in the final to win their very first gold medal. Eight years later at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Spain reached the final, losing on penalties to Cameroon. At the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Spain reached their third final, coming so close yet again this time losing 2-1 against Brazil after extra time. At the 2024 Summer Olympics Spain reached a second consecutive, where they faced against the host France, in a very exciting final, Spain defeated the French by a score line of 5-3, winning their second gold medal after 32 years.
^the 1924 and 1928 editions were co-organised by FIFA)[5][7]
^Countries from Eastern Europe competed with professional players.[7]
References
^""La Roja"". 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
^Since 1992, squads for football at the Summer Olympics have been restricted to three players over the age of 23. The achievements of such teams are not usually included in the statistics of the senior team.
