International Career
Mata helped Spain win the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, where he was a key player. 'Juanín' finished the championship second to his teammate Alberto Bueno (five goals) as top goal scorer of the competition, with four in five matches.
On 1 February 2007, under-21 coach Iñaki Sáez included him on his squad for the friendly against England, alongside Roberto Soldado, José Manuel Jurado, Sergio Sánchez, Miguel Torres, Esteban Granero and Antonio Adán, at just 18 years and 10 months.
On 14 November 2008, Vicente del Bosque called up Mata for the senior team to play in a friendly against Chile. He did not leave the bench in a 3–0 home win. On 28 March 2009, he finally made his debut, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey, a 1–0 win in Madrid. He came on as a substitute for teammate David Villa, in the 63rd minute.
In June 2009, del Bosque included Mata for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the youngster's first senior tournament. He started in the second group match against Iraq, and came on as a substitute for Albert Riera in the semi-final loss to the United States.
On 9 September 2009, Mata scored his first goal for the senior team, as the 3–0 win against Estonia secured a place in the World Cup in South Africa. He followed this up with the winner against Armenia on 10 October, scoring a penalty to steal a 2–1 win. Picked for the final stages, he appeared once for the eventual champions, replacing Fernando Torres for the final 20 minutes of the 2–0 group stage win against Honduras. In the following summer, he unconventionally went back to the Under 21 side, playing the role of senior squad member and helped Spain win the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in Denmark. Mata himself was included in UEFA's Team of the Tournament and named as the tournament's Golden Player.
Mata returned to the senior squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and, after coming on as a substitute, scored Spain's fourth goal in the final, as Spain defeated Italy 4–0 to retain their title as champions of Europe.
Mata was included in Spain's squad for the 2012 Olympic football tournament as one of their three designated overage players. However, Spain failed to score in any of their opening three matches and were eliminated at the group stage.
Read more about this topic: Juan Mata
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