Zaragoza scores late on as Spain edge Switzerland in five-goal thriller
With the pressure off after guaranteeing a top-spot finish in Group A4 last time out, Luis de la Fuente shuffled his entire starting lineup, but they still boasted a number of the superstars who helped them to EURO 2024 glory.
It was shaping up to be a low-key first half, but things heated up in Tenerife when Alvaro Morata was taken down by Ricardo Rodriguez after a brilliant flick-on, convincing Bastian Dankert to point to the spot.
While local boy Pedri was unable to beat Yvon Mvogo from the resulting penalty, another Canary Islander, Yeremy Pino, was on hand to blast in the opener, but not after Nico Williams’ effort was blocked on the line by Remo Freuler.
It had been pretty much all Spain up until then, but already-relegated Switzerland still had some motivation left in the tank, and they could easily have been on level terms if Simon Sohm hadn’t slipped when trying to convert Granit Xhaka’s cross on the stroke of half-time.
And the visitors built on that after the restart, being granted a superb opportunity after debutant Aitor Paredes severely misjudged a long ball, but Joel Monteiro flashed wide when through on goal.
Clearly fired up by that miss, Monteiro then produced a moment of magic, receiving Vincent Sierro’s crossfield ball before coming inside to beat three Spain defenders and slotting under Robert Sanchez - his first for the Rossocrociati.
Not to be outdone, Bryan Gil entered the fray and restored the lead with his own maiden international goal less than five minutes later, after stealing the ball off Freuler in the area and thumping it past Mvogo from close range.
Spain pushed forward in search of more, but Switzerland were awarded a penalty of their own after Fabian Ruiz caught Sierro while attempting to clear his lines, and Andi Zeqiri dispatched confidently for the spot for another equaliser.
It looked as though the scoring - and indeed the penalty kicks - were done there for the night, but there was to be one last twist deep into stoppage time.
Bryan Zaragoza, who had dazzled since he entered the field, was caught by Sierro as he darted into the area, and the third awarded penalty of the day was dispatched with aplomb by Zaragoza himself.
Given that Spain had gone on to win the respective competition after their last two losses to Switzerland - the 2010 World Cup and the 2023 Nations League - superstitious fans will be hoping that avoiding defeat here still means they can go the distance in the Finals next June.
Switzerland, meanwhile, have failed to win a single game since beating Italy at EURO 2024, and Murat Yakin will have to change things up ahead of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Yeremy Pino (Spain)
