Spain, maintaining their readiness for the 2026 World Cup, triumphed over Serbia in Villarreal, with Mikel Oyarzabal netting two goals.
Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad attacker, benefited from Fermin Lopez’s ingenious turn and Alex Baena’s feint to score the initial goal in the 16th minute for the current European titleholders. He then notched a second just before half-time, executing a precise strike following Pau Cubarsi’s delivery.
After Spain’s second goal, Lamine Yamal sent a shot from inside the penalty area that struck the upright. Fermin subsequently believed he had netted his debut senior international goal, tucking it away, but was then ruled to have committed a handball.
Víctor Munoz, having moved to Osasuna from Real Madrid in 2025, scored on his maiden appearance for Spain, concluding the tally with 18 minutes remaining.
Spain vs Serbia: La Roja cruise
The most worrying instant for Spain arose when Veljko Birmancevic, currently on loan to La Liga club Getafe from Sparta Prague, seemed to have reduced the gap by scoring with a magnificent volley.
Birmancevic requested a Video Assistant Referee check – however, the technology was unavailable – after the goal was nullified, as the midfielder was judged to have committed a foul on Marc Cucurella.
Spain are next scheduled to play at home against Egypt in Barcelona on Tuesday (20:00 BST). Serbia, having not secured a spot in the finals, will welcome Saudi Arabia in Montenegro on the same day (17:00).
Spain team vs Serbia
Spain starting XI: Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Pedri Gonzalez, Rodri Hernandez, Fermin Lopez; Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Alex Baena
Spain substitutes: David Raya, Cristhian Mosquera, Alejandro Grimaldo, Dean Huijsen, Ferran Torres, Carlos Soler, Borja Iglesias, Dani Olmo, Yeremy Pino, Pedro Porro, Alex Remiro, Pablo Fornals, Martin Zubimendi, Victor Munoz, Ander Barrenetxea
Serbia team vs Spain
Serbia starting XI: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Ognjen Mimovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Aleksa Terzic, Filip Kostic; Nemanja Gudelj, Aleksandar Stankovic; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic; Veljko Birmancevic, Aleksandar Mitrovic
Serbia substitutes: Predrag Rajkovic, Njegos Petrovic, Mijat Gacinovic, Luka Jovic, Sasa Lukic, Djordje Petrovic, Stefan Bukinac, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Petar Ratkov, Vasilije Kostov, Dejan Joveljic, Lazar Samardzic, Petar Stanic, Vanja Dragojevic
World Cup 2026: Who will Spain face?
Below are Spain’s initial planned World Cup matches. Kick-off times marked with an asterisk commence on the subsequent day.
| Date | Match | Venue | BST | ET | PT |
| June 15 | Spain vs Cape Verde | Atlanta | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 |
| June 21 | Spain vs Saudi Arabia | Atlanta | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 |
| June 26 | Uruguay vs Spain | Guadalajara | 01:00* | 20:00 | 17:00 |
Spain vs Serbia stats
- Spain finished at the top of their World Cup qualifying group, accumulating 16 points from six matches.
- The nations had encountered each other on three prior occasions; Spain secured victory twice, with the remaining encounter concluding in a scoreless stalemate.