Follow Spain Immigration, follow Life in Spain: At 5:00 AM Beijing time on November 17, the Spain national team played an international football friendly against the Equatorial Guinea national team at the New Stadium of Malabo in Equatorial Guinea. In the first half, Cazorla and Juanfran scored successively, while Equatorial Guinea scored a header. Xabi Alonso was substituted due to injury. At halftime, Spain led 2-1. In the second half, Del Bosque made substitutions but failed to extend the lead. Llorente scored a goal, but it was incorrectly ruled offside by the referee. Ultimately, Spain defeated Equatorial Guinea 2-1 away from home.
The Spanish national team and the Equatorial Guinea national team had never faced each other in an international 'A' level football match. The 'La Roja' had already qualified for next year's World Cup, while Equatorial Guinea finished bottom of their group in the African World Cup qualifiers with 2 draws and 4 losses in 6 matches, scoring 7 goals and conceding 14. Historically, the Spanish national team has played against African teams 11 times, losing only once. That match occurred in the 1998 World Cup group stage, where the team lost 2-3 to Nigeria and was eventually eliminated in the group stage.
Compared to the starting lineup of the previous match, Del Bosque made 7 adjustments for this game: Reina started as goalkeeper, with Casillas and Valdés on the bench. In the defensive line, Iñigo Martínez and Bartra formed the center-back partnership, with the young Barcelona player making his national team debut. The midfield trio of Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta was replaced by Cazorla, Xabi Alonso, and Koke. The Real Madrid playmaker started for the national team for the first time since returning from injury and served as the team captain. In the forward line, Pedro was replaced by Navas. Brazilian-born striker Diego Costa had previously been called up by Del Bosque but withdrew from the squad due to injury before the match, with Llorente being called up as a replacement.
In the 8th minute, Cazorla's cross from the right was cleared by a defender from the penalty area; Koke picked up the second ball outside the area and fired a right-footed volley over the bar. In the 10th minute, Spain made a passing error in the backfield, and Equatorial Guinea winger Nsue crossed from the right, with Iñigo Martínez clearing the ball with a bicycle kick.
In the 11th minute, Iñigo Martínez sent a long pass from the back, and Mata sprinted forward, nearly creating a one-on-one situation, but the goalkeeper came out to collect the ball. In the 13th minute, Spain broke the deadlock. Mata sent a cross from the left, and Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Danilo fumbled the ball while coming out to collect it. Cazorla swept the ball into the empty net with his left foot, making it 1-0. In the 24th minute, Balboa created a one-on-one situation in the penalty area and fell after contact with Iñigo Martínez, but the referee refused to award a penalty. In the 27th minute, Koke and Xabi Alonso sent a long pass from midfield, and Navas sprinted forward. The opposing defender cleared the ball, but the Manchester City winger grabbed the second ball and fired a right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area that slid past the goal.
In the 31st minute, Equatorial Guinea player Fidjeu was shown the first yellow card of the match for a foul on Moreno in the right midfield. In the 36th minute, Equatorial Guinea equalized. Bermúdez connected with a corner kick from the right taken by a teammate and scored with a header at the back post, making it 1-1. In the 42nd minute, Spain regained the lead. Navas crossed from the right, the goalkeeper came out but failed to clear the ball far, and Juanfran scored with a left-footed shot from the front of the six-yard box, making it 2-1. One minute later, Busquets came on to replace the injured Xabi Alonso. In the 44th minute, Vallado fired a right-footed shot from outside the penalty area that went wide. Subsequently, Equatorial Guinea won a corner kick on the right. The first ball was cleared by Bartra, and Vallado fired a right-footed shot from outside the area that went over the goal line. There were 2 minutes of stoppage time in the first half, and after that, neither side achieved anything further. Once the stoppage time ended, the referee blew the whistle for halftime, with Spain leading 2-1.
The second half resumed with Llorente replacing Negredo. In the 48th minute, Fidjeu fired a right-footed shot from outside the area that went wide. One minute later, Viera was cautioned with a yellow card for a foul on Mata in midfield. In the 52nd minute, Viera fired a right-footed shot from in front of the penalty area that went over the bar. One minute later, Cazorla sent a long pass from midfield, Navas headed the ball to the center from the right side of the penalty area, and Llorente's right-footed shot lacked power, allowing the goalkeeper to collect it. In the 56th minute, Villa and Iniesta came on as substitutes, replacing Koke and another player. In the 59th minute, Llorente scored with a shot in front of the goal, but the referee signaled offside and the goal was disallowed; slow-motion replays showed this was a misjudgment.
In the 61st minute, Navas crossed from the right side of the penalty area, and Llorente headed the ball wide at the back post. In the 65th minute, Pedro came on to replace Navas. In the 73rd minute, Mbela tackled Llorente with his studs showing while defending on the right side of the backfield, and the referee showed Mbela a yellow card. In the 80th minute, Ramos came on to replace Iñigo Martínez. In the 84th minute, Juanfran crossed from the right side of the front court, and Moreno fired a left-footed shot from the back post that went over the bar. In the 89th minute, Dio fired a right-footed shot from in front of the penalty area that went wide. There were 3 minutes of stoppage time in the second half, and after that, neither side achieved anything further. Ultimately, Spain won 2-1 away from home.
Spain (4-3-3): 23-Reina / 5-Juanfran, 10-Bartra, 3-Iñigo Martínez (80’ 15-Ramos), 18-Moreno / 14-Xabi Alonso (43’ 16-Busquets), 8-Koke (56’ 6-Iniesta), 20-Cazorla (56’ 7-Villa) / 13-Mata, 22-Navas (65’ 11-Pedro), 9-Negredo (46’ 19-Llorente)