Forward Diego Capel conceded that his side "never thought things would have gone so badly" in Sweden after a 2-0 defeat against England left Spain facing an early exit from the Under-21 finals.

Spain blog: Having seen a switch from the usual 4-2-3-1 to a more orthodox 4-4-2 fail to bring reward against England, coach Juan Ramón López Caro is still pondering how to galvanise his strike force.

UEFA Europa League contenders SC Braga of Portugal have unveiled teenage Venezuelan midfielder Angelo Peña as their first recruit for next season, signing him from Estudiantes de Mérida FC.

Belarus blog: The standard of Belarussian football has improved significantly in recent years but as the 5-1 loss to Sweden showed, there may still be some way to go before their promise is realised.

Joni Aho conceded "it's the small things that matter" after Finland were eliminated - but the fact team-mate Perparim Hetemaj believes they have held their own could spell bad news for Spain.

Belgium defender Sébastien Pocognoli has signed a new contract with AZ Alkmaar that will keep him at the Dutch champions until 2014, having made 53 Eredivisie appearances since joining in 2007.

For only the second time since the Second World War, teams from outside Bucharest occupied the top two places in the Romanian league table while the domestic cup also went to the provinces.

Germany blog: The 2-0 victory against Finland demonstrated some interesting truths about modern football, from the significance of the set-piece to the importance of making the most of opportunities.

The long road to the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League final begins on Monday with 36 European domestic league winners in the draws for the first two qualifying rounds of the competition.

Serbia blog: With midfielder Gojko Ka ar declaring his dream of Under-21 glory ahead of today's meeting with Belarus, television commentator Aleksandar Stojanović explains the Serbs' motivation.

Sergei Kislyak insists his Belarus side still have everything to play for in Group A as they look to bounce back from the 5-1 defeat by Sweden in Friday's match with Serbia at the Malmö New Stadium.

Belarus coach Yuri Kurnenin was delighted with his players after they bounced back from their defeat by Sweden to draw with a Serbia team whose coach Slobodan Kr marević expected better.

Sebastian Giovinco came to the fore by creating goals for Mario Balotelli and Robert Acquafresca in the 2-1 win against Sweden, insisting that his role in the hole "is the one that fits me best".

Belarus 0-0 SerbiaThe teams had to settle for a point apiece in Malmo, meaning it is advantage Italy and Sweden going into Tuesday's Group A finale.

Arsenal FC have signed Belgium central defender Thomas Vermaelen from AFC Ajax in a deal reportedly worth €11.8m with the 23-year-old saying his side "will be challenging for honours".

Italy coach Pierluigi Casiraghi praised the Azzurrini for their bravery and intelligence after defeating Sweden 2-1 with ten men, while Sweden's Jörgen Lennartsson insisted: "It is still in our hands."

Benedikt Höwedes is gaining a reputation for timely goals but after his latest in Germany's 2-0 victory against Finland he preferred to attribute the team's success to a familiar German trait: efficiency.

Man of the match in the win over Spain that secured England's semi-final berth, Micah Richards is determined that they improve on their 2007 Under-21 finals showing when they lost in the last four.

Sweden blog: Sweden's midsummer festivities may have fallen flat in Helsingborg but with Serbia still to come in Group A the host team were in no mood to dwell on their 2-1 defeat by Italy.

Sweden 1-2 ItalyThe Azzurrini won the Group A spoils on Midsummer national day despite the first-half dismissal of opening goalscorer Mario Balotelli.