Soccer Football - UEFA Nations League - Group A4 - Spain v Serbia - Estadio Municipal Nuevo El Arcangel, Cordoba, Spain - October 15, 2024 Spain's Aymeric Laporte celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates REUTERS/Jon Nazca
CORDOBA, Spain (Reuters) - European champions Spain claimed a place in the Nations League quarter-finals with a 3-0 home win over Serbia thanks to goals by Aymeric Laporte, Alvaro Morata and Alex Baena on Tuesday.
With two games left, Spain have secured at least a second-place finish as they top League A Group Four with 10 points, three ahead of Denmark and six clear of Serbia, with Switzerland bottom on one point after a 2-2 home draw with the Danes.
Spain were missing several players from the team that beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final in July but still outclassed Serbia with 30 shots against three from the visitors.
Defender Laporte gave the Spaniards the lead with a close-range header in the fifth minute and Morata, who missed a penalty in the 54th, extended Spain's lead with a strike from just inside the box after 65 minutes.
Serbia's Strahinja Pavlovic was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Mikel Oyarzabal on the edge of the area in the 78th and Baena curled a delightful free kick into the top corner to wrap up an easy victory for Spain.
"We are in another final stage of a major tournament and that is something to be proud of," captain Morata told Spanish public television TVE.
"It seems easy because we are always there in the final stages but sure it isn't so we have to understand how special it is and give it the proper value it has.
"We have several injured players, we missed them but we have to look at the positives that are young players stepping up. What we have created is special and we have to keep going forward. Spain has an incredible future."
After beating Denmark 1-0 on Saturday without Dani Carvajal and Rodri due to serious knee injuries, and with key players like Nico Williams, Dani Olmo and Robin Le Normand also absent, Luis de la Fuente's side faced Serbia also minus teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who got injured against the Danes.
But his depleted team did miss a beat as they easily handled Serbia and secure a third successive Group A4 win to clinch a top-two finish and become the second team to book a quarter-final place after Germany who qualified on Monday.
After Laporte headed the opener from a cross by Pedro Porro, Spain wasted several chances, including a penalty for handball by Veljko Birmancevic that Morata blasted over the bar.
It was not until 20 minutes into the second half that they extended their lead as Morata slotted home first-time with the inside of his left foot after a neat through ball from Fabian Ruiz before Baena wrapped up the win with a terrific free-kick.
(This story has been refiled to say Group Four in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
