Joselu adds to Spain goal tally during victory in Cyprus

Spain defeated Cyprus 3-1 on Thursday evening and Joselu played the entire 90 minutes, scoring the third goal of the game. La Roja started brilliantly, going three goals up so early that the final hour of the match was like a training session, played in second gear.

It was Lamine Yamal who opened the scoring from the right wing in the 4-3-3 in the fifth minute, before in-form Mikel Oyarzabal made it 2-0 from the left in the 22nd minute. Unfortunately for the Real Sociedad man, he was soon off with what appeared to be a thigh injury.

The third goal was courtesy of Joselu, who had been playing well at the centre of attack, laying the ball off and even playing some smart dummies. The centre-forward then lost his marker at a Spanish corner in the 28th minute to fire in at the back post and end his mini goal drought. The striker hadn’t scored since Real Madrid’s big 4-0 win over Osasuna on October 7th. Since then, he had gone 177 minutes, spread out over seven appearances, without finding the back of the net, so entered this game against the international minnow with hunger. By scoring in Cyprus, it means Joselu has five goals in nine Spain appearances, scoring one every 59 minutes.

With Spain 3-0 up against one of the worst teams in all of Euro 2024 qualifying, they could take their foot off the gas and that’s what they did. It made for a dull watch, and probably a boring evening for Joselu as he remained at the tip of an attack that rarely looked to cross him the ball.

Spain concede on Carvajal’s watch

In the 66th minute, another Real Madrid player entered the fray as Dani Carvajal replaced Jesús Navas, taking the captain’s armband off the Sevilla man as well. The Real Madrid right-back didn’t have much to do, but was an onlooker as Cyprus pulled one back, with neither David García nor Carvajal as close to goalscorer Kostas Pileas as they should have been. That goal really didn’t matter, though, as Spain remain top of the group following one of the easiest fixtures they’ll play before Euro 2024.