Vicente Del Bosque named an unfamiliar XI for the final Euro 2016 qualifier against Ukraine, won through a Mario Gaspar goal created by Thiago, who spoke to reporters after the final whistle.
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Ukraine unrealistically needed to better Slovakia’s result in Luxembourg to earn an automatic berth at the tournament in France next year but their fellow Eastern Europeans secured a 4-2 win to make sure of second place.
The Spanish keeper single-handedly got United back into the top four, qualifying for the Champions League, with a season full of stunning saves on a regular basis, keeping them in matches and with a shot to win. My congratulations to the teams that have already qualified, especially to those participating in a European Championship for the first time, such as Iceland or Albania.
Play-off places are confirmed for Sweden, Slovenia, Ukraine, Denmark and Ireland.
Sweden beat Moldova 2-0 but will have to negotiate the playoffs after finishing third.
9′ – CHANCE FABREGAS: The skipper should open the scoring on his 100th appearance for Spain but fires just over the bar after Isco plays him in.
Slovakia coach Jan Kozak’s side were anxious to put behind them the struggles of their previous three matches, in which they took only one point and failed to score after starting the qualifying campaign by reeling off six straight wins.
De Gea was a target for Real Madrid throughout the summer, as reported by Sky Sports, and he saw a move to the Bernabeu collapse on the final day of the summer transfer window.
“I’m in the best form of my career”.
Elsewhere, second-placed Switzerland beat Estonia 1-0 after an own goal from defender Ragnar Klavan in fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Álvaro Morata scored the only goal on 28 minutes as Spain defeated Ukraine 1-0 in the sides’ first Group C encounter.
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In Group E, England ended their campaign with a 100% record grabbing a 3-0 win over Lithuania.
