VILLARREAL, Spain, March 27 : Striker Mikel Oyarzabal got two superb first-half goals and substitute Victor Munoz scored on his senior international debut as Spain cruised to a 3-0 win over Serbia in a pre-World Cup friendly on Friday.
With Serbia stepping into the breach after Spain’s original plan to play Argentina in Qatar was derailed by the ongoing conflict in the Gulf, the Spaniards took the opportunity to hone their attacking play with some breathtaking movement and incisive passing that allowed them to create plenty of chances.
Spain took the lead in the 16th minute with a brilliantly constructed goal that saw Lamine Yamal feed midfielder Fermin who worked the ball on quickly for Oyarzabal to blast into the net with a fierce left-foot shot.
As Spain attacked relentlessly, Yamal received the ball on the edge of the box from Alex Baena three minutes later, but his low spinning drive struck the foot of the post and bounced away to safety.
Veljko Birmancevic had Serbia’s first shot of the game in the 21st minute but it flew harmlessly into the hands of Unai Simon, and the visitors struggled to create decent goal-scoring chances.
Fermin had the ball in the net in the 36th minute but the goal was ruled out due to it bouncing off his arm in the build-up as he was tackled by Aleksandar Stankovic, and Spain were denied a penalty minutes later when the ball struck the arm of defender Nikola Milenkovic in similar circumstances.
Oyarzabal netted his second goal with a tremendous shot from the edge of the box in the 44th minute and though Spain continued to dominate, it took until the 72nd minute for them to find the net again, Munoz scoring after being teed up by a brilliant back-heel from Ferran Torres.
“Due to circumstances (in the Gulf), we had to play this game but we were clear that the best way to face what is coming was to give everything and try to take the positives,” Oyarzabal said.
“I was happy to score, I wouldn’t have imagined being among the top scorers, happy for everyone who came and happy for Víctor Munoz. It doesn’t matter who plays, what matters is the collective,” he added.
Spain will compete in Group H of the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, kicking off against Cape Verde on June 15 before going on to meet Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
