Oyarzabal and Pedri see Spain past Peru in their final World Cup warm-up

Spain wrapped up their World Cup preparations the way they have handled most of this build-up, in control and without much fuss. A 3-1 win over Peru in Puebla on Monday closed out their warm-up schedule, and they barely had to get out of second gear to manage it, even with a few of their biggest names left at home.

Two early goals do the work

The contest was effectively settled inside half an hour. Mikel Oyarzabal struck after barely a minute, finishing past Pedro Gallese following a clever pass from Pau Cubarsí. Pedri made it two in the 32nd minute, Ferran Torres picking him out for a composed finish. From there Spain simply managed the game, knocking the ball around with the patience that has become their trademark and rarely letting Peru settle.

A Gallese own goal added a third after the break before Jairo Vélez gave Peru something to show for their efforts with a late consolation. By then the result had long been beyond doubt, and Spain were content to see out the evening without forcing matters.

Depth on display

What will please Luis de la Fuente most is that this came without Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Víctor Muñoz, all of whom stayed at Spain’s base in Tennessee to keep working on their recovery from injury. Losing that kind of attacking talent would gut most squads. Spain instead controlled proceedings through Rodri, Fabián Ruiz and Álex Baena, a reminder that the depth behind their headline acts is as good as anyone’s heading into the tournament.

The news on the absentees is encouraging too. De la Fuente expects all three to be available for Spain’s opening match against Cape Verde on June 15, though he tempered expectations on Yamal, suggesting the winger’s return from a hamstring problem might begin with only a short cameo.

Among the favourites again

Spain arrive at this World Cup carrying the weight of expectation, as European champions and one of the sides most fancied to go all the way. Performances like this do little to dampen that talk. The real tests are still to come, and a friendly against an out-of-sorts Peru will tell you only so much, but a settled team easing through its final rehearsal is exactly what de la Fuente would have wanted before the serious business starts.

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