Manquillo unable to secure Spain qualification
There was disappointment for Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno as Spain failed to qualify for next year's UEFA U21 Championships after falling to a 2-1 defeat against Serbia on Tuesday night.
The loss ensured reigning champions Spain will play no part in the Czech Republic when the tournament gets underway in June 2015, after a goalless draw in Serbia last Friday contributed to a 2-1 aggregate defeat in the play-offs.
Manquillo featured for the full 90 minutes on Tuesday and had a hand in his side's late equaliser, while Moreno was not named amongst the starting XI or on the substitutes' bench for the crucial second-leg clash in Cadiz.
Valencia's Jose Luis Gaya put through his own net in the 31st minute to hand the advantage to Serbia; however, Albert Celades' young Spanish side battled to the end to plunder a dramatic late equaliser.
Manquillo it was who rifled the initial strike goalwards. The Liverpool man was thwarted by Marko Dmitrovic, the Serbian goalkeeper, but Barcelona's Sergi Roberto was there to send the rebound home and make it 1-1 in the 92nd minute.
The drama was far from over, though, as the visitors summoned one final foray into opposition territory. Aleksandar Kovacevic found teammate Filip Kostic, who made it 2-1 in the third minute of added-time to consign Spain to defeat.