Spain 3-0 Serbia
Spain eased to victory in their first match of 2026, as they continued their World Cup preparations with a 3-0 victory over Serbia at La Ceramica.
The opening goal of the game was scored on 16 minutes, and it was done so by Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal. The 28-year-old, who has been in unstoppable form on the international stage over the last 12 months, fired beyond Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic after being played in by Fermin Lopez.
It was a very well-worked goal by La Roja, with ex-Villarreal playmaker Alex Baena playing a big role in it. He delivered an excellent dummy back on his former stomping ground, and that gave Oyarzabal the space to rifle in the opener.
Just before half time, Spain made it 2-0, and it was a second of the night for Oyarzabal. It was another Barcelona player with the assist, as Pau Cubarsi played an excellent ball into the path of his La Roja teammate, who turned on the ball before unleashing an unstoppable effort from just outside the penalty area.
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente made a number of changes after that, with Pedri and Fermin replaced at the half time interval, while Lamine Yamal and Oyarzabal were taken off on the hour mark. One of those to come on was Victor Munoz, and he marked his debut in fine style with the third goal of the night. Rodri Hernandez started the move, Dani Olmo slipped in Ferran Torres whose deft backheel allowed the Osasuna winger to finish was ease inside the penalty area.
Spain start 2026 as they mean to go on
Spain will be pleased with their first outing of 2026, and they will hope to carry on their form into next week’s friendly match against Egypt, which is pencilled in to take place at Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium.
