UEFA Nations League: Spain ease to 3-0 win over Serbia to open up three-point gap in group

Spain booked their place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals with a hard-fought 3-0 win over toothless Serbia.

Though Spain dominated proceedings, especially after Aymeric Laporte’s headed opener just five minutes in, it wasn’t until well into the second-half that victory was assured, when Alvaro Morata atoned for a skied penalty by lashing home the second goal.

It came just moments after Aleksandar Mitrovic had missed a golden chance to put his side level, but Serbia unravelled in the final quarter and finished the game with 10 men after VAR upgraded Stahinja Pavlovic’s yellow card.

He felled Mikel Oyarzabal just outside the penalty area and Alex Baena’s exquisite free kick capped a deserved victory for La Roja, who join Germany in the Nations League knockouts.

Denmark’s draw with Switzerland in the other Group A4 game means that with two matches left, Spain cannot be caught by two teams – thanks in part to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Luis de la Fuente was missing seven of the starting side that beat England to European glory in Berlin over the summer with Lamine Yamal the latest big-name player to be ruled unavailable due to a minor knock.

But the champions barely missed a beat in Cordoba, stamping their authority all over a sorry Serbia. The Group A debutants have bounced back well from a disappointing Euros campaign yet were clearly second-best, barely creating any chances and enjoying mere scraps of possession past the halfway line.

For two-thirds of the evening, Spain appeared engaged in an exercise of finding more and more outlandish ways to avoid killing the game.

The front four of Morata, Baena, Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino peppered Predrag Rajkovic’s goal and though the Serbian shot-stopper had momentary lapses, he also produced some fine reaction saves to keep the game close for as long as possible.

However, the dam was always likely to burst at some point with the Serbian midfield unable to sustain any possession and Fabian Ruiz and Martin Zubimendi comfortable running the show as Spain ended the game with 30 shots.

Serbia’s best chance came when Sasa Zdeljar threaded a sumptuous ball down the right flank with Spain caught light at the back, and a cross reached Mitrovic at a comfortable height with David Raya almost completely out of the picture.

However, Mitrovic pranged his effort high and wide, one of just three shots all evening for the visitors.

After two promotions in three editions of the competition, consolidation was always likely to be the top priority for Dragan Stojkovic’s team and they earned a battling point against Spain last month in Belgrade.

But they were thoroughly outclassed this time around, and must now rebound against Denmark and Switzerland with a place in the quarter-finals possible or the pessimism of advancing to the relegation playoffs or an automatic drop.

Baena had big boots to fill on his first start for Spain as the veteran 23-year-old started in Yamal’s left-wing berth, but showed no signs of nerves in a terrifying display of De la Fuente’s depth in attacking areas.

Baena was already in the conversation to be player of the match before his goal, the Villarreal man qas a livewire around the edge of the penalty area and kept Rajkovic on his toes nearly all evening.

Yet he caught the Serbian keeper flat-footed from the set-piece, dipping his shot magnificently over the wall and into the top corner to ensure Spain took all three points.

SPAIN: Raya 6, Porro 7, Vivian 6, Laporte 8, Cucurella 7, Zubimendi 6, Ruiz 7, Oyarzabal 8, Merino 7, Baena 9, Morata 7.

Subs: Pedri 7, Joselu 6, Zaragoza 7, Garcia, Cubarsi 6.

SERBIA: Rajkovic 6, Erakovic 5, Milenkovic 6, Pavlovic 5, Maksimovic 6, Nedeljkovic 4, Birmancevic 6, Samardzic 5, Zdjelar 6, Mitrovic4, Joveljic 4.

Subs: Jovic 6, Grujic 5, Cumic 5, Maksimovic 6, Cimic 5.

8′ – GOAL! SPAIN 1-0 SERBIA (LAPORTE): Spain have the goal they couldn’t buy in Belgrade! Aymeric Laporte heads home a deep Pedro Porro cross, Predrag Rajkovic may be disappointed with that, so acute was the angle of Laporte’s angle, but they were queueing up to finish it at the back post.

53’ – PENALTY! This should be game over. Spain remain in top gear and Alex Baena gets the chance to fire at goal from the edge of the penalty area. He’s stopped by the onrushing Veljka Birmancevic – but crucially by an arm of the onrushing Veljka Birmancevic.

56’ – PENALTY MISSED! WOW! Morata blazes the penalty well over the bar, and Serbia survive!

65’ – GOAL!! SPAIN 2-0 SERBIA (MORATA): Morata atones! And in some style too. Oyarzabal kickstarted the move and a neat 1-2 with Ruiz broke the Serbian defence open. It still required an inch-perfect finish though, one that Morata delivered.

75’ – BIG DECISION: Oyarzabal is felled on the edge of the penalty area chasing a through ball, but the referee only draws a yellow card. That still means he’ll miss the next game along with fellow centre-back Erakovic, but the referee is then called over to the VAR monitor…

76’ – RED CARD! It’s upgraded to red, and there’s no real surprise. The foul was outside the box and Nikola Milenkovic wasn’t too far away but that’s a sending off at least nine times out of 10.

78’ – GOAL!!! SPAIN 3-0 SERBIA (BAENA): It’s absolutely sensational! The free-kick is absolutely textbook from Baena, his performance deserved a goal. On his full debut, Baena sends his dipping delivery over the wall into the top corner, Rajkovic was rooted to the spot on the other side of the goal.