Spain prepared for the European Championship with a 5-1 win over Northern Ireland in Mallorca as their final preparation game before travelling to Germany. It was also coach Luis de la Fuente’s first game since Real Madrid players joined the squad after the Champions League final, with all three featuring.
Nacho Fernández was the only man to start, returning to the national team scene for his 25th cap and his first since the UEFA Nations League final a year ago. He also registered an assist as he fed a pass to Pedri, who finished from outside the box to give Spain an equaliser. That came after Daniel Ballard gave the visitors an unexpected lead in only the second minute, but Spain fought back to demolish their opponents.
The 34-year-old veteran went on to play 52 minutes before being replaced by Al Nassr’s Aymeric Laporte, recording a 96% pass completion rate and winning both of his two duels in a sturdy display which will position him well to compete for a starting spot against Luka Modrić’s Croatia in Berlin next Saturday.
By half-time, Spain were leading 4-1 courtesy of another Pedri goal, an Álvaro Morata header and a strike from Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabián Ruiz. It was cruise control from that point on, with De La Fuente making several changes to his team at Son Moix.
One of those to come on at the break was Dani Carvajal for a 44th appearance for Spain. He looked to be comfortable without ever needing to break out of first gear and should have secured his place as first choice ahead of Sevilla’s Jesús Navas, who had set up Morata for his first-half goal.
The final Real Madrid involvement saw Joselu replace Lamine Yamal, with fellow substitute Mikel Oyarzabal moving wide to make room for the former Espanyol striker. He had only four involvements in his 18 minutes on the field, though he did hit the woodwork with one of two shots, the other blazing over the bar from a good position. This outing took his number of appearances for his country to 11, following his debut in March 2023.
Spain will next face Croatia on Saturday, June 15th, in their opening game of Euro 2024. Carvajal is the only name currently expected to be along the starting XI, though Nacho is also in contention for a role in the heart of defence.
