5 Talking Points from Spain's 3-1 Friendly Win Against Uruguay

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Two second-half goals from Barcelona's Pedro Rodriguez ensured Spain beat Uruguay 3-1 in their friendly match in Qatar.

Cesc Fabregas gave La Roja a first-half lead from 30 yards out, although goalkeeper Fernando Muslera will not want to see the replays.

Cristian "Cebolla" Rodriguez—who plays his football for Atletico Madrid in La Liga—equalised before halftime for the South Americans.

However, Pedro took his tally to eight goals in six games for Spain with a pair of second-half finishes, as Vicente del Bosque's side comfortably closed the game out.

Read on for five talking points the match threw up.

Champions of Europe Are Better Than Champions of South America

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Spain's win against Italy in the summer saw them win their second European Championship to go alongside their World Cup title from 2010. 

Uruguay surprised some by winning the Copa America ahead of Brazil and Argentina in 2011.

Tonight was a chance to see, in theory, Europe's best side against the best offering from South America.

The first half wasn't a classic. Neither side particularly impressed, but there were glimpses of individual brilliance from Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez.

In the second half, Spain took control. Despite never hitting top gear, they eased to the finish line thanks to Pedro's brace and an impressive Isco cameo at the end.

Barca Still Monopolise Spanish National Team

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Of the Spain starting XI, seven were Barcelona players:

Victor Valdes, Jordi Alba, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez.

The rest of the starting lineup was made up of two players from Chelsea, one from Arsenal and just Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid.

Halftime introductions of Gerard Pique and David Villa saw nine Barcelona players used in total, a record amount for the Spanish national team.

In a country where the regional sports newspapers are constantly trying to get one up on each other, this matters.

The Spanish champions from Madrid may point to the injured Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas for backup, but the truth at the moment—and for the foreseeable future—is that Barca's players are much more important to the national team.

Del Bosque Ties Mark for Most Games in Charge of Spain

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This was Vicente del Bosque's 68th game in charge of Spain, equaling the most games totaled by any previous La Roja manager— the other is former national coach Ladislao Kubala, who gave Del Bosque his international debut in 1975.

Prior to the game, the 62-year-old downplayed his achievement (per ESPN's Dermot Corrigan): 

[The record] is something which was unthinkable for me, but I want to say that what Kubala did gets more merit. In his time we played much fewer games each year. We played 16 games in 2012. He was coach for a decade.

With a European Championship and World Cup already won by the Real Madrid boss, it's questionable how much the record will register with him.

Puyol Wins 100th Cap

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When Carles Puyol missed out on Euro 2012 due to injury, there was speculation that the 34-year-old would retire from international football.

Not Carles.

Tonight, he joined the centurion club as he captained his country in Qatar against the South American champions.

He becomes the seventh Spanish player to reach the landmark after Andoni Zubizarreta, Raul Gonzalez, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas and Fernando Torres.

His central defensive partner tonight, Sergio Ramos, could become the next member to join the club in Spain's next match—he is still just 26.

Azpilicueta, Isco and Suarez Make Debuts

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Vicente del Bosque took the chance to breed through three debutantes in the win against Uruguay.

Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta started the game at right-back and has now played for Spain at every level and captained each one too, other than the senior side.

The 23-year-old faces tough competition for the position moving forward, though, from Alvaro Arbeloa, Martin Montoya, Hugo Mallo and eventually Javier Manquillo. 

Central midfielder Mario Suarez, 25, of Atletico Madrid also made his debut in the absence of Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernandez.

Finally, Malaga's Isco came on in the second half for the first of what is expected to be many international caps in his career.