Spain vs. Belarus: Winners and Losers from Euro 2016 Qualifier
Spain moved up to second-place in Group C following Saturday's 3-0 win at home to Belarus in Euro 2016 qualifying.
Isco, Sergio Busquets and Pedro scored the goals for the reigning European champions, who dominated from start to finish in Huelva and stayed within three points of Slovakia in their bracket.
A handful of players caught the eye at Estadio Nuevo Colombino, while others were less impressive.
Following are the winners and losers from this encounter.
Winner: Koke, Who Was Spain's Midfield General
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Without the retired Xavi Hernandez and injured Andres Iniesta in the Spanish midfield, it fell to Koke to provide both prudence and creativity in the centre of the park on Saturday.
He didn't disappoint.
In the 18th minute, his short pass following Timofei Kalachev's giveaway set up Isco to open the scoring, and over the course of the 90 minutes he touched the ball more times than any other player (156) and also completed 91 percent of his passes.
Loser: Paco Alcacer, Who Struggled to Involve Himself
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Since David Villa's international retirement, Spain have struggled to find a consistently productive centre-forward. Oftentimes they've operated without one altogether.
On Saturday it was Paco Alcacer who started in the role, and while the striker has so far enjoyed a good start to the season with Valencia he made little impression against Belarus.
Rarely moving into useful space so as to involve himself in his side's build-up play, the 26-year-old often drifted on his own and finished the match with a minuscule 25 touches of the ball. Even Belarus forward Sergei Kornilenko, who was substituted, touched the ball more often.
The closest Alcacer came to scoring was in the 51st minute when he hit the side-netting with a header.
Winner: Juanfran, Who Made Things Happen from the Right-Hand Side
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Juanfran took his chance in a starting role for Spain on Saturday and wildly impressed in what was just his 12th international performance.
In the 19th minute, he initiated a neat bit of interplay with Santi Cazorla that led to the Sergio Busquets goal, and shortly after the restart his pass to Pedro turned into an assist after the Barcelona man beat Belarus goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov to the far corner.
As Spanish outlet AS noted on Twitter, Juanfran's "movement and use of the ball" was fantastic on Saturday.
Winner: Sergio Busquets, Who Scored Just His Second International Goal
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Sergio Busquets came into the Spanish national team at the time when Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta were at the peak of their respective powers.
On Saturday, the Barcelona midfielder operated alongside Koke and Isco, and although he was withdrawn at the interval after picking up a yellow card in the first half, all signs point to the 26-year-old excelling in La Roja's new-look team.
Busquets touched the ball 69 times in his 45 minutes, completed 95 percent of his passes and scored Spain's second goal in the 19th minute when his shot from outside the 18-yard box took a slight deflection on its way to goal.
Loser: Timofei Kalachev, Who Did Not Lead by Example
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Belarus captain Timofei Kalachev did not put in a leader's performance on Saturday, and his cheeky attempt to move the ball away from Koke in the 18th minute led directly to Isco's spectacular goal.
Late in the first half, the 33-year-old was booked for dissent, having complained too aggressively about Sergei Balanovich's yellow card.
The guests could have done with their skipper setting a better example against Spain.
Winner: Isco, Who Scored a Wondrous Opener
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Isco started his first match for Spain on Saturday, and he marked the occasion with a golazo.
From well outside the Belarus area, the Real Madrid playmaker arrowed a shot that found the top, near corner of the goal—right where the owl sleeps.
The 22-year-old was easily the best player on the pitch in Huelva, and in the 80th minute was withdrawn to a standing ovation.
Spanish football commentator Sid Lowe referred to Isco's goal as a "beauty" on his Twitter account, while German football pundit Cristian Nyari labelled it "ridiculous."
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.
