La Liga clubs seem to find room for their young players to actually play and the advantages look clear given the strength of the Spanish squad at the European Under-21 Championship

Iñaki Williams knew he did not have long to make his mark. He had lost his place in Spain’s starting lineup to Málaga’s Sandro Ramírez just before the tournament but, with 15 minutes to play and Spain leading Portugal 2-0 in their group game at the European Under-21 Championship, the striker was handed his opportunity by Albert Celades.

Within seconds, a brilliant volley from the new RB Leipzig signing Bruma had reduced the deficit to set up a frantic finale between the Iberian rivals in Gdynia on Tuesday. Both sides had their chances but a supreme illustration of pace, power and skill from Williams, the boy from the Basque country with a Ghanaian father and Liberian mother, settled the argument as Spain became the first team to reach the semi-finals with a 3-1 victory.

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Williams, the Athletic Bilbao striker with a £43m release clause, is one of six players including the Arsenal right-back Héctor Bellerín in La Rojita’s star-studded squad to have already earned full international honours but the 23-year-old may count himself unlucky not to be considered as one of his country’s key players. However, when you can call on the Atlético Madrid midfielder Saúl Ñíguez and Marco Asensio – the new darling of the back-to-back Champions League winners Real Madrid, who scored a hat-trick in the 5-0 hammering of Macedonia in Spain’s opening match in Poland – there is certainly plenty of competition for that title.

Despite La Liga clubs having dominated European competition since Chelsea’s Champions League triumph in 2012, that Spain went into this tournament with their 23 players having featured for more minutes – 38,891 to be precise – in Europe’s top six domestic leagues than any other nation is remarkable. England, who face the hosts in Kielce on Thursday knowing victory would guarantee a place in the last four for the first time since 2009, could only accumulate 17,914.

“If that squad was trying to qualify for the senior European Championship or World Cup you would expect them to make it,” says Joe Donnohue from Scouted Football, a website dedicated to tracking the progress of players under the age of 23 around the world. “At this tournament they are up against a lot of players who are still trying to break into the first team at their respective clubs, whereas Spain have several players who already have experience of playing regularly in the Champions League.”

It is not just players from the big clubs. Jorge Meré, a 20-year-old central defender from Sporting Gijón, has been a regular in the under-21s for the past two seasons, while the left-sided midfielder Dani Ceballos has made more than 100 La Liga appearances for Real Betis since his first-team debut in 2014. Marcos Llorente, the 22-year-old holding midfielder, starred for Alavés under coach Mauricio Pellegrino during their run to the Copa del Rey final last season and shone in the win against Portugal.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arsenal’s Héctor Bellerín fires in a shot during Spain’s 3-1 win over Portugal at the European Under-21 Championship in Poland. Photograph: Adam Warzawa/EPA

“One of the things we have looked at extensively over this season is that La Liga seems to give the most opportunities for players under the age of 23,” Donnohue says. “It’s not really a coincidence Spain have often performed well at youth level when they are playing at such a high level from a young age. You’re going to have the endurance and the mental strength to approach those sort of games, while a lot of England’s young players are only given cameos in cups when there isn’t the same amount of intensity as a top-flight league match.

“For example, someone like Ceballos is playing every game and there is a lot riding on it every week. And it’s the same for Meré, whose club are relying on him to help keep them in the league. Spain’s players learn to deal with the pressure at a younger age as well as being technically brilliant because that has been their football education.”

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Aidy Boothroyd’s side who came from behind to beat Slovakia in their second group stage match on Monday featured only three players – Calum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond – who have also played for the senior side, although they have only five caps between them. That could have been considerably more had the Football Association opted to include Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli in their party, with Nathaniel Chalobah among several who have struggled for gametime for their parent clubs.

The Chelsea midfielder has started only 50 league games in spells at Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, Burnley, Reading and Napoli since starring for Watford on loan in the 2012-13 season. Donnohue believes it is a sign of why English players have struggled to make an impact in this tournament since losing in the final in 2009 to a Germany side who featured Mesut Özil and Thomas Müller.

“The Spanish FA have more of an influence over clubs than their English counterparts and you can see that from the number who have been involved with the senior squad,” he says.

“That’s definitely the right way to go. England had Harry Kane and John Stones at the last European Under-21 tournament and although they didn’t do very well, they have come on leaps and bounds since then. It’s one of those experiences when you’re in that tournament environment that helps players gradually make the step up to senior international football. Theo Walcott went to the 2006 World Cup as a 17-year-old and that must have been a shock to the system. I’m not sure that’s the best way to get you ready for the demands of senior football.”