England

1-0

Spain

Rodwell 52

England U16s v Spain
International U16 Friendly
3pm, Saturday 28 April 2007
Wembley Stadium
28 April 2007
VIDEO: England 1-0 Spain

England U16s Head Coach, Kenny Swain, was pleased with how his players dealt with the occasion of playing at Wembley.

Kenny Swain believes that the experience of playing at Wembley, against one of the strongest teams in Europe will go a long way to the future development of the U16s.

With almost 30,000 fans inside the stadium for the second match to be played there, England overcame Spain thanks to a second half strike from Jack Rodwell, andSwain is confident that this victory will push these players to greater heights.

"We took the game on in the second half and just about edged it, and probably deserved to win 1-0 which is credit to the players," Swain admitted.

"We expected a bit of anxiety, but we brought them to the stadium on Thursday to help overcome that, and I think they played with less anxiety than we thought they would. It was a fairly mature performance, considering they are only 16 year old schoolboys.

"The experience of playing Wembley, the size of it, the heat and the occasion - I think they have overcome a lot of hurdles here.

They have had magnificent opportunities, particularly in the last three weeks, and they have faced up to Spain, they have faced up to Germany, USA and France and that will stand them in good stead."

The number of fans inside the stadium was a particularly pleasing aspect for Swain.

"The players are knocked out by the turnout, and certainly as far as the staff are concerned it's more than we anticipated, and I think it's a tribute not just to youth football, but the fact so many people are engrossed in the game at all levels.

"Things are looking good for the future, and with the U17s preparing now for the UEFA U17 Championship in Belgium, we certainly have two strong age groups playing well, and we have some very good players right through the system."

Teams:

England: 1 Wesley Foderingham (Fulham) (13 Declan Rudd (Norwich City) 40), 2 Chris Solly (Charlton Athletic) (14 Adam Smith (Tottenham Hotspur) 40), 3 Ben Gordon (Leeds United), 4 Oliver Norwood (Manchester United) (15 John Bostock (Crystal Palace) 48), 5 Kyle Bartley (Bolton Wanderers) (12 Jack Rodwell (Everton) 40), 6 Thomas Cruise (Arsenal), 7 Matthew James (Manchester United), 8 Dean Parrett (Tottenham Hotspur), 9 Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa) (Adam Phillip (Chelsea) 73), 10 Harry Forrester (Watford) (16 Jacob Mellis (Sheffield United) 61), 11 Nicky Ajose (Manchester United) (18 Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur) 61)

Subs Not Used:

Spain: 1 Alejandro Sanchez Benitez (Angel Diez Ibanez 40), 2 Jose Manuel Morales Ramos, 3 Angel Martinez Ortega (12 Antonio Luna Rodriguez 40), 4 John Gaztanaga Arrospide, 5 Ruben Molero Cortes (c), 6 Alvaro Lopez Bermejo, 7 Imanol Eslava Arce (17 Fernando Ruiz Izaguirre 40), 8 Thiago (18 Daniel Nieto Vela 59), 9 Daniel Pacheco Lobato, 10 Antonio Miguel De La Torre, 11 Sergio Barcina Rodriguez (14 Alberto Delgado Quintana 40)

Subs Not Used: 15 Ramiro Mayor Ruiz, 16 David Vidal Fernandez,

Referee: Andy D'Urso

Attendance: 28,210