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Spain national football team
European Championship | Qualifiers
Sep 8, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
North Macedonia national football team

5-1

Ramos (15' pen.), Alcacer (17'), Busquets (45'), Silva (50'), Pedro (91')
FT(HT: 3-1)
Ibraimi (28' pen.)

Player Ratings: Spain 5-1 Macedonia

Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed as Spain opened their Euro 2016 qualification campaign with a 5-1 win over Macedonia in Valencia.

Sergio Ramos, Paco Alcacer, Sergio Busquets, David Silva and Pedro were all on the scoresheet as Spain opened their Euro 2016 qualification campaign with a 5-1 win over Macedonia on Monday.

Agim Ibraimi found the back of the net for the visitors in the first period, but it was one-way traffic for much of the contest.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed during the Group C clash at Valencia's Mestalla stadium.


SPAIN

Goal

Iker Casillas: Handed the gloves despite pressure from David de Gea and continued his solid early-season form with a positive display. Strong from crosses and made a number of good saves. (7/10)

Defence

Juanfran: It was his poor challenge on Aleksandar Trajkovski that brought Macedonia's penalty, but the right-back did set up Alcacer for Spain's second. Always a threat in the final third. (7/10)

Sergio Ramos: Showed incredible confidence to dispatch Spain's opener from the penalty spot and was never really troubled in a defensive area. (7/10)

Raul Albiol: Looked slightly leggy when Macedonia attacked with pace, but his positioning and reading of the game was strong. Not spectacular, but a solid display. (6/10)

Jordi Alba: Set up Silva for Spain's fourth in what was a fine display from the left-back. Created a host of chances from a wide area as he terrorised the Macedonian defence. (8/10)

Midfield

Sergio Busquets: Needed the help of a deflection to score his first goal for Spain late in the first half, with that strike capping an all-round strong performance from the Barcelona midfielder. (7/10)

Koke: Still finding his way in this Spain team. Was tidy enough in the middle of the park, but needs to start influencing his country in the same way that he does for Atletico Madrid. (6/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Always available and always willing to take control of the ball. Smashed the crossbar with a powerful effort in the second period. (7/10)

Attack

Pedro: Finally got on the scoresheet in the latter stages with a brilliant finish. Macedonia struggled to deal with the pace and movement of the attacker, who should have scored more than once. (8/10)

Paco Alcacer: Handed the lone striker role in place of the injured Diego Costa and made his mark with Spain's second of the night. A bright first start for the 21-year-old. (7/10)

David Silva: Won Spain's first-half penalty, before scoring the fourth and setting up Pedro for the fifth late on. An all-round complete performance from the Manchester City attacker. (9/10)

Substitutes

Isco: Replaced Alcacer just before the hour mark, but struggled to make a serious impact despite having space to exploit in the final third. (6/10)

Marc Bartra: Slotted effortlessly into the back four after replacing Ramos in the second period, but in truth, was not really tested. (6/10)

Munir El Haddadi: Cheers erupted around the stadium when the 19-year-old made his debut for Spain. Showed some nice touches and good link-up play during his 15 minutes on the field. (6/10)


MACEDONIA

Goal

Tome Pacovski: Conceded five goals, but made a number of brilliant saves in the first period. Was not helped by his side's unpredictable defending. (6/10)

Defence

Stefan Ristovski: Arguably his side's most high-profile player this evening, but he could not stop Spain's dominance in the final third. (5/10)

Ardian Cucili: Decent enough in possession of the ball and strong in the air, but struggled to deal with the interchanging Spain attack. (6/10)

Daniel Mojsov: It was Mojsov's rash challenge on Silva that allowed Spain to take the lead from the penalty spot. He made some good challenges, but his positioning was poor at times. (5/10)

Egzijan Alioski: Offered his side an attacking threat from a defensive area in the first period, but was somewhat surprisingly withdrawn at the interval. (5/10)

Midfield

Agim Ibrahimi: Easily his country's best player on the night. Scored with a cool penalty and came close to doubling his tally with a number of long-range efforts. (7/10)

Vance Sikov: Tasked with offering protection to his back four, but really struggled to deal with wave-after-wave of pressure, especially in the first period. (5/10)

Stefan Spirovski: Powerful midfielder did his best to make his presence known in the middle of the park, but did not see enough of the ball to influence the match in the final third. (5/10)

Aleksandar Trajkovski: Won his side's penalty after driving past Juanfran inside the Spain box and showed good pace in the final third. (6/10)

Besart Abdurahimi: Proved a threat during Macedonia's best spell in the first half, but was hardly seen in the second period as Spain dominated the ball. (6/10)

Attack

Adis Jahovic: Had a glorious chance to score Macedonia's second in the early stages of the second period, but found Casillas in top form. Caused problems with his movement in the final third. (6/10)

Substitutes

Muhamed Demiri: Entered at the interval, but struggled to adapt to the pace of the match in the second period as Macedonia quickly fell 4-1 behind. (5/10)

Marjan Radeski: Teenager showed some nice touches in possession of the ball, but lacked that final pass. (6/10)

Darko Velkovski: Another of Macedonia's rising talents, but has hardly seen in the latter stages due to Spain's dominance of possession. (5/10)


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Paco Alcacer celebrates with David Silva after scoring Spain's 2nd goal during the UEFA EURO 2016 Group C Qualifier between Spain and FYR of Macedonia at Estadio Ciutat de Valencia on September 8, 2014
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Group A

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