Although Spain did not employ their strongest squad, they still managed to win handily by a score of 3-1 at Cyprus Stadium. This victory allowed Spain to maintain their position as the top team in Group A of the Euro 2024 qualifying competition.
Since both Spain and Scotland have already secured their spots in the Euro 2024 tournament, the only thing that remains to be determined is who will finish in first place in Group A.
As a result, coach Luis De La Fuente did not employ the strongest squad for the road trip to Alphamega on the evening of November 16. Instead, he left Unai Simon, Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres, and Dani Carvajal on reserve for the match.
Nevertheless, Spain is still a more formidable opponent than Cyprus, which is presently ranked 124th in FIFA, because to the presence of key players such as David Raya, Pau Torres, Gavi, and Mikel Oyarzabal. After the first ninety minutes, Spain was in complete control of the game, controlling 77% of the ball and finishing 14 times with five hits on target, compared to the home team’s four and three.
Yamal in the opening goal of Spain’s 3-1 win over host Cyprus in Euro 2024 qualifying on November 16. Photo: AS
Within a quarter of an hour, Spain was able to preemptively settle the match. During the fifth minute of the match, Lamine Yamal, a talented player from Barcelona who is only 16 years old, performed two deceptive moves to eliminate the Cyprus defense and then kicked into an empty goal to open the score. The goal scored by Yamal came after 22 passes, which is Spain’s best statistics in the Euro 2024 qualifying round and places them in fourth place in this qualification season.
A cross-angle kick was taken by Alex Grimaldo in the 22nd minute, after he had prodded Mikel Oyarzabal into the penalty area. The ball was able to get past goalkeeper Joel Mall and slowly glide into the net. Six minutes later, Oyarzabal delivered a corner kick to the far post, which allowed Joselu to score and hit the roof of Cyprus’ net, bringing the score to 3-0 in favor of Cyprus.
Joselu (No. 12) scored to increase the score to 3-0 for Spain. Photo: AS
During the second half of the match, Spain took a proactive approach by playing slowly, which assisted Cyprus in establishing a superior position. After Charalampous had poked the ball into the slot in the 75th minute, substitute Kostas Pileas was able to fire a one-touch shot to the near corner, which was successful in beating David Raya. The goal for Cyprus was accepted by the referee, Mykola Balakin, after he had gone to the touchline to watch the footage of the contact that occurred between Grigoris Kastanos and Gavi.
In the remaining match, Scotland encountered a great deal of difficulty on the pitch that Georgia controlled. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a top player for Napoli, opened the score for Georgia on two separate occasions, but Scotland equalized the score thanks to Scott McTominay and Lawrence Shankland.
Spain maintains its position as the leader of Group A with 18 points, two points ahead of Scotland, despite these results. During the final round, which will take place on November 19, Spain will play Georgia at home, while Scotland will compete against Norway.
Squad :
Cyprus : Mall, Andreou, Karo (Kousoulos 66), Gogic, Laifis, Ioannou, Kyriakou (Charalampous 46), Kyprianou (Spoljaric 46), Kastanos, Correia (Pileas 46), Pittas (Kakoullis 60)
Tây Ban Nha : Raya, Grimaldo, Pau Torres, Le Normand (Garcia 46), Navas (Carvajal 66), Gavi, Zubimendi, Merino (Garcia 46), Yamal (Torres 73), Joselu, Oyarzabal (Riquelme 46)