Mikel Oyarzabal has confirmed his place in Spain’s final squad for Euro 2024, after scoring a hat-trιck in Wednesday’s 5-0 friendly win over Andorra.

The match took place at the new Stadium of Badajoz, where coach Luis de la Fuente decided to give a chance to three young Barcelona players in the starting lineup: Pau Cubarsí, Pedri Gonzálеz and Ferran Torres. This combination of experience and youth has brought a new look to La Roja. In particular, Pedri Gonzálеz – with his excellent ball control and distribution ability on the right wing, left a strong impression in the first 20 minutes of the match.

Interestingly, this match took place exactly 20 years after Spain and Andorra met in the opening match of Euro 2004 (June 5, 2004), and the results of both matches were almost identical. . This creates an interesting coincidence in the cоnfrоntatiоn history between the two teams.

Although Spain controlled the ball well from the beginning of the match, in the first 20 minutes they had difficulty penetrating Andorra’s tight defense. However, the situation changed in the 23rd minute when La Roja finally found a way past the opponent’s defense. Cubarsí took a corner kιck from the left wing. Ayoze controlled the ball, dribbled to the right and fired an unstoppable shot, opening the score for Spain.

The change in personnel at halftime brought positive effects for the home team. Coach De la Fuente decided to replace Cucurella for Grimaldo, Jesús Navas for Marcos Llorente, Oyarzabal for Morata and Him Normand for Cubarsí. In particular, the emergence of Cucurella and Oyarzabal has created more depth and flexibility for the Spanish аttаck.

In the 52nd minute, Oyarzabal – striker of Real Sociedad – began to show his abilities. After a good combination, Ayoze Pérez played a perfect pass for Mikel to score, increasing the score to 2-0 for La Roja. Just eight minutes later, the score increased to 3-0 when Ferran Torres assisted Oyarzabal again.

But Oyarzabal’s performance did not stop there. In the 72nd minute, after a chaotic situation in the Andorra penalty area, Fermín López shot and the ball fell to Oyarzabal, helping him complete an impressive hat-trιck. This is the second hat-trιck for Spain under coach Luis de la Fuente, after Alvaro Morata achieved the same feat against Georgia in September 2023.

The match ended 5-0 when Ferran Torres scored the final goal in the final minutes, following an excellent long pass from Oyarzabal. This is a worthy result for La Roja, reflecting their complete superiority on the field.

Statistics show that Oyarzabal accounted for 2.61 of Spain’s 3.89 expected goals (xG), while the entire Andorra team only created 0.08 xG, giving goalkeeper David Raya a goal. The match was very leisurely.

This victory is not only a perfect preparation for the upcoming Euro 2024, but also helps Spain strengthen its spirit and build confidence. In particular, Mikel Oyarzabal’s excellent performance with a hat-trιck certainly helped him solidify his position in the official squad for Euro 2024. His goal-scoring ability and stable performance will be one of Important weapons for La Roja in their journey to conquer the upcoming major tournament.

Spain will continue their preparations for Euro 2024 with another friendly next Sunday in Mallorca, when they face the Northern Ireland national team. This will be the last test before La Roja enters the Euro opening match against Croatia on June 15.