Pablo Sarabia’s first-half penalty proved enough to ensure La Roja took all three points against Greece in Athens on Thursday night. Luis Enrique’s side won 1-0 to end the day top of Group B of World Cup Qualifying, leapfrogging Sweden.
Spain will now face Sweden on Sunday night at La Cartuja in Sevilla, in a winner-takes-all fixture. What’s changed following tonight’s results, however, is that Spain only need to draw to top the group and secure automatic qualification for Qatar 2022. Sweden lost 2-0 to Georgia earlier in the evening.
https://twitter.com/OptaJose/status/1458898114979504130?s=20
As for the game itself, it was Greece who actually had the ball in the net first. Giorgos Masouras thought he’d fired his country into a 21st-minute lead after coolly beating Unai Simon, only for the linesman to raise his flag and rule it offside.
🏁 ¡¡FINAL FINAL FINAAAAL EN ATENAAAAS!!
La @SeFutbol se impone en tierras helenas con un gol de @Pablosarabia92 tras dominar el partido ante los griegos.
🔝 Con esta victoria, ¡España es PRIMERA de su grupo en el camino a #Catar2022!
🇬🇷 🆚 🇪🇸 | 0-1 | 90+5’
¡¡#VamosEspaña!! pic.twitter.com/s2qgP69air
— Selección Española Masculina de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) November 11, 2021
The tie’s decisive moment came just four minutes later. Inigo Martinez was fouled in the box and Sarabia, on loan at Sporting Lisbon from Paris Saint-Germain, stepped up to take it. He made no mistake, going left and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Victory was nothing less than Spain deserved. They controlled 72.6% of the possession and recorded a passing accuracy of 92%, making sure to press high and win the ball back as quickly as possible whenever they lost it. Greece threatened on occasion, but ultimately played with a disappointing lack of ambition. For La Roja, thoughts have now turned to Sweden on Sunday.
