The Spanish team had no rival in a Georgia depleted by casualties and took the opportunity to rescue the longed-for forcefulness (4-0), with a facelift to Luis Enrique’s eleven, sentencing the duel with three goals in the first half that increased the pressure on Sweden in the pulse for the square that gives direct access to the World Cup.
The first quiet game of Spain on the way to Qatar 2022 came with the revolution of Luis Enrique in his eleven. The team rejuvenated so much that César Azpilicueta wore the captain’s armband with 29 caps. The speed in the game and the physique above the experience. Players such as Koke and Sergio Busquets, who were hurt in the retreat in the defeat of Sweden, relegated to the bench. It was a good day to try new faces.
And a surprise appears for everyone except Luis Enrique. Abel Ruiz played in attack point. Ahead of Álvaro Morata and so many other Spanish strikers who were left out of the call. He likes his mobility, the capacity for association that he adds to the auction that made him break records in the lower categories. He forgave the one he had on a night in which Spain exhibited forcefulness.
The goals that are so longed for in matches in which the lack of punch diminishes him, appeared in a first act of total superiority. The Valencian association Carlos Soler-Gayá began to unbalance the duel. The vision to the space of the midfielder to the rises by band of the side. Georgia locked herself in and gave up everything. With a 4-5-1 as a system, only a miracle would have allowed him to stroke a point as happened in the first leg.
That day he came to the rescue in addition Dani Olmo, a player whose importance has been proven in his absence. Like Pedri. It was the day of breaking lines with the speed of Marcos Llorente, Gayá and Ferran Torres. Before the quarter of an hour was up, after two notices from Ferran, Gayá opened the scoring with good fortune. His shot was deflected by defender Kashia inside his goal.
With the wind in favor and Rodri exhibiting qualities in command, Spain was liked. Georgia could not find a way to stop the power of Gayá, who sought the second with a shot and had the third annulled due to an illegal position. On the other side, the right, Marcos Llorente was hanging down. His starts to the baseline always leave danger. Soler did not waste it to continue being sweet. Two games with the absolute and two goals.
That arrival from the second row is a factor to be exploited by Luis Enrique, who does not find regularity in the goal of a pure center forward. Their most reliable player is Ferran Torres, who scored his third goal in the qualifying round after a new assist from Llorente on the day the starting doors opened and placed him in his natural area.
The situation of the group invited Spain not to take its foot off the accelerator. While waiting for an error from Sweden, who visits Greece the next day, the more goals in their favor the better to hurry to avoid the play-off. Feeling defeat and released from pressure, Georgia did more in one minute than in the entire first act. Azarov, with two threats from school, was the first to test Unai Simón.
The goalkeeper did not block a subsequent shot from Mikautadze, which increased Georgia’s offensive danger with another shot that repelled the post, but from caressing the first goal he went on to fit the fourth on the first occasion that let Spain explode his speed on the counterattack. Fornals left it on a tray for Sarabia.
Luis Enrique awarded Robert Sánchez with his debut, satisfied with the reaction of his players to the defeat and the behavior before the obligation. Spain recovered lost sensations before visiting Kosovo and rushing its chances of winning the direct ticket to Qatar.
. Data sheet:
4 – Spain: Unai Simón (Robert Sánchez, m.74); Azpilicueta, Eric García (Mikel Merino, m.61), Laporte (Albiol, m.46), Gayá (Brais Méndez, m.74); Rodri, Marcos Llorente, Carlos Soler; Ferran Torres (Fornals, m.61), Sarabia, Abel Ruiz.
0 – Georgia: Loria; Chabradze, Kashia, Giorbelidze (Kakabadze, m.76), Azarov (Vako, m.57); Kankava, Aburdzhania (Altunashvili, m.69), Zaria (Mikautadze, m.57), Lochoshvili, Mamuchashvili; Davitashvili (Chakvetadze, m.69).
Goals: 1-0, m.14: Gayá. 2-0, m.25: Carlos Soler. 3-0, m.41: Ferran Torres. 4-0, m.63: Sarabia.
Referee: Tiago Bruno Lopes (Portugal). He admonished Kashia (68) and Chabradze (82) for Georgia.
Incidents: match corresponding to the fifth day of the 2022 World Cup qualification phase, played at the Nuevo Vivero before 8,444 spectators. EFE (HN)