MATCH REPORT | Spanish goal fest in Cordoba as Nations League quarter-final qualification secured (3-0)

To the sound of victories, triumphs and successes, Spain has become a perfectly purring machine, a team that plays well, charms, shines and, normally, wins. It wins a lot and wins well. And it does so because it plays with the conviction and confidence of great teams. They proved it once again tonight at the Nuevo Arcángel in Córdoba, under a heavy downpour, as Luis de la Fuente's boys secured their place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League with a 3-0 win over Serbia.

This is a team that proves that there is nothing more powerful than the strength of the collective and, precisely for this reason, Spain never misses their absentees. Important players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Dani Carvajal, Rodri, Le Normand and Dani Olmo have been missing, but those who slot in for them always do so seamlessly and with clear ideas of how to play. 

The match against Serbia was decisive in terms of securing a place in the quarter-finals and that's how the national team approached it from the very first minute. After Aymeric Laporte had already opened the scoring in the first minutes, the script of the match was always going to be the same. Spain had the ball, controlled the game, created chance after chance and the scoreline was not even more spectacular down to a lack of better finishing. 

Not even the 1-0 scoreline was enough for Spain to take their foot off the accelerator a little, they went through the gears searching for a second goal to clinch qualification. They probed for it vertically at times, but without ever forcing play needlessly, constructing every move, always looking for the best option. And not only did they find the second, but also the third. That second goal was scored by an exemplary Álvaro Morata, who now has 37 goals with the ‘reds’.

Then, Morata found the net with a great first-time shot from the edge of the boy. Shortly after, a magical pass from Pedri into space in behind ended in a red card for Serbia, a foul on the edge of the area and a superbly struck curling freekick scored by Álex Baena. A player who this summer combined Olympic gold with the European Championships title. His goal sealed the win, gave Spain a place in the quarter-finals and culminated another magical night for a team that never stops growing, improving and making us dream.