Dominant Spain frustrated by stubborn Serbia in Nations League draw
European Champions Spain travelled to Belgrade looking to continue their dominance at the top of international football, as Luis de la Fuente named a strong starting 11 to take on a Serbian side who only managed one goal en route to their group stage exit at the Euros.
Despite this, the home side were the ones with the early chances, as they tried to catch Spain out on the counter on multiple occasions, as Sasa Lukic, Ivan Ilic and Luka Jovic all failed to find the target from the edge of the opponents' box.
La Roja eventually found their footing and started to create chances of their own, with Martin Zubimendi having the best shot of the opening half-hour, forcing a save from Predrag Rajkovic on the fast break. With half-time on the horizon, Spain started to fire off more chances, as they tried to gain the lead before the interval but it came to no avail.
The second half started off as a cagey affair, with both sides struggling to find the target, but the positive for the hosts was their ability to limit the European Champions to very few chances from the edge of the box.
Fabian Ruiz and Robin Le Normand both had chances prior to the hour mark, but both men shot wide of the target, as Spain looked like they might fail to score within 90 minutes for the first time since the Nations League final in 2023.
Lamine Yamal then had two chances of his own, as the teenager tried to pull Spain in front, but neither chance challenged Rajkovic in the end. Nico Williams was next to be denied by Rajkovic, as his header was collected by the Serbian shot-stopper.
Despite their best efforts, Spain couldn’t find the breakthrough they needed and were forced to settle for a point on the road. For Serbia, this was a point that gave them a lot of hope, as they were able to limit one of the world's best sides to very few clear chances.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Predrag Rajkovic (Serbia)
