SALZBURG // European Champions Spain produced a dominant display to thrash South Korea 6-1 in Austria on Wednesday in their penultimate friendly before Euro 2016.
Celta Vigo forward Nolito staked a claim for a starting berth in the opening group game against the Czech Republic by netting twice after David Silva and Cesc Fabregas had given Spain a two-goal lead around the half-hour.
Juventus forward Alvaro Morata also scored twice, either side of Nolito’s second-half strike, to round off Spain’s biggest win since they thrashed Tahiti 10-0 in 2013. Substitute Jong Tae-se got a consolation goal for South Korea.
• Spain omit Isco and Sual Niguez from Euro 2016 squad; uncapped Lucas Vazquez makes cut
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque made four changes to the team that comfortably beaten Bosnia 3-1 last Sunday, recalling Iker Casillas, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Morata.
Silva and Nolito were Spain’s liveliest performers in the first half, and it was the mercurial Manchester City midfielder who opened the scoring with a stunning free kick.
Barely a minute later Morata chased down Kim Jin-hyeon after a sluggish back-pass and the goalkeeper spilt the ball under pressure, allowing Fabregas to tap into an empty net.
Nolito added to the two goals he scored against Bosnia by running on to a stylish pass from Cesar Azpilcueta and calmly sliding the ball through the keeper’s legs.
Del Bosque made four substitutions at the break to give playing time to Thiago Alcantara, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Pedro.
Morata headed in from a corner and Pedro released impressive full back Hector Bellerin who cut the ball back for Nolito to score again.
Jong pulled a goal back for the Koreans but Morata restored Spain’s five-goal lead with virtually the last kick of the game, chipping in from a tight angle.
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CRICKET WORLD CUP LEAGUE 2
Mannofield, Aberdeen
All matches start at 2pm UAE time and will be broadcast on icc.tv
UAE fixtures
Wednesday, Aug 10 – Scotland v UAE
Thursday, Aug 11 - UAE v United States
Saturday, Aug 14 – Scotland v UAE
Monday, Aug 15 – UAE v United States
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Vriitya Aravind, CP Rizwan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu
Table (top three teams advance directly to the 2023 World Cup Qualifier)
1. Oman 36 21 13 1 1 44
2. Scotland 24 16 6 0 2 34
3. UAE 22 12 8 1 1 26
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4. Namibia 18 9 9 0 0 18
5. United States 24 11 12 1 0 23
6. Nepal 20 8 11 1 0 17
7. Papua New Guinea 20 1 19 0 0 2
