Rodri made his first start for Spain since 2024, and in a commanding performance, Spain secured a 3-0 win over Serbia at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Cerámica, primarily thanks to the finishing prowess of Mikel Oyarzabal.
Oyarzabal netted twice in the first half, propelling the European champions toward an easy victory and increasing his goal tally to an impressive 11 goals in his last 10 appearances.
Víctor Muñoz marked his debut with the third goal, and the only surprise was that Spain didn’t secure an even more dominant win as they ramp up their preparations for the World Cup.
This was Rodri’s first start in 18 months, following two substitute appearances earlier in the season after recovering from a serious knee injury.
Serbia, who narrowly missed out on a World Cup playoff spot to Albania, posed little threat to the home side throughout the match.
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The first half was dominated by Oyarzabal, whose two goals were a testament to Spain’s control of the game.
Spain wasted no time making their mark, with Marc Cucurella firing a dangerous shot just over the bar before they took the lead in the 16th minute as their attacking rhythm fell into place.
Lamine Yamal threaded a ball into the area, and after a spin and pass from Fermín López and a clever leave by Alex Baena, Oyarzabal expertly finished the play with a well-placed shot.
His second goal came just before halftime when a lackluster Serbian defense allowed him the space to hammer in a shot into the top-right corner, marking his 24th goal for Spain, making him the second-highest scorer among active players, just behind Álvaro Morata’s 37 goals.
Serbia believed they had scored when Veljko Birmancevic found the net, but the referee disallowed the goal due to an alleged foul on Cucurella.
Replays suggested that Cucurella had slipped, but without VAR available, referee Luis Miguel Branco Godinho couldn’t review the play despite Birmancevic’s appeals.
Muñoz came off the bench in the 64th minute to make his mark just eight minutes later, scoring the third goal with a stylish finish following a back heel from Ferran Torres.
Dani Olmo came close to making it 4-0 in the dying moments, but his close-range effort was superbly saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Spain continued to press for a fourth goal, but despite their dominance, they could not find the back of the net again.
Contributions by PA and ESPN Research assisted in this report.