On September 8, 2019, starting at 1:45 p.m. local time, 2010 World Cup winners Spain eased closer to Euro 2020 qualifications with a 4-0 victory over Faroe Islands.
The Group F match saw one goal in a stuffy first half and three goals in an open second half, with the two goals only two minutes apart.
Spain dominated the match with a 4-3-3 lineup that allowed Rodrigo and Thiago to roam freely on the pitch, which caused problems for Olsen's men.
Spain has now won all six of their six matches to lead the table and is comfortably seven points clear of second-placed Sweden. Sweden drew 1-1 today with Norway at the Friends Arena in Solna, Sweden.
Moreno's men return to action on October 12 with a trip to Norway to play Sweden. Meanwhile, the Faroe Islands will try to get their first points in the competition with a match against Romania in a month.
Faroe was playing with a 5-men back-line in an attempt to stifle the attack of Rodrigo, Suso and Thiago.
The first glimpse of what the match would entail happened after 10 minutes when Davidsen tackled Carvajal, leading to a free-kick. But the kick did not amount to anything after it went directly into the wall.
Notably, the majority of Spain's attack came from the right flank where Suso, Thiago and Carvajal teed up chance after another.
Another chance loomed closer as Thiago dashed and sprinted trying to beat the defenders. Olsen took him down and Thiago was awarded a free-kick for his troubles. But Suso hammered it straight into the wall.
Moments later, Spain won a corner that Ramos volleyed over the crossbar and into the stands. Spain found pockets of space to lead an attack, despite the tight formation of Faroe Island. They seemed quite content with soaking up the pressure, while Spain tried to break the defence.
Thiago got the first booking for a sliding tackle on Olsen after 43 minutes. There were two minutes of stoppage time added and Faroe saw instances of brilliant attacking build-up.
Davidsen almost got to a pass in the middle that would have Moreno pushing his men for a second before half-time. Faroe grew in confidence and knocked the ball around until the whistle blew for half-time. Spain had 70 per cent of the ball and Faroe was happy to defend.
The restart saw Spain vibrant and ready to score more goals. After 50 minutes, Rodrigo met the ball at the halfway line to fire at the open net. The shot was deflected away from Nielsen by defender, Heini, and that was the second goal of the match and a brace for Rodrigo.
Ramos was penalized for a handball after 72 minutes, deliberate or not he received the booking. Faroe immediately received an opportunity to trouble De Gea when a clear defensive flaw led Joannes to fire a low volley that ended up being saved by De Gea.
When Faroe tried to attack there was little support up front to carry through the play. They had to drop back to build momentum for the attack. Spain then robbed the ball and went all-out for an attack of their own.
Second-half substitute Alcacer added the icing on the cake when he placed his name on the scoreline sheet in the 89 minutes. Thiago played a quick one-two to create space with a pass to Alcacer, who squared past Nielsen to make it 3-0.
Alcacer bagged a brace and Spain's fourth with a header pass Nielsen to beat Faroe. Gaya's left-footed pass sat well for Alcacer who had no difficulty sealing Spain's victory.
This match was a well deserving one for Spain and it showed up some particular players that had to do extra work to win the game. Well done Spain, next time Faroe.
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