Overview
Spain showed impressive form in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers when they won 16 points after 6 matches, thereby leading the group and 3 points ahead of second-placed Turkey.
Coach Luis de la Fuente's team is considered one of the top candidates for the championship, alongside England, Argentina, France, Brazil and Portugal.
La Roja once won the 2010 World Cup, but then disappointed when they were eliminated in the round of 16 in the last two tournaments, even stopping right from the group stage.
This month, Spain will have two friendly matches against Serbia and Egypt, before entering the journey at the 2026 World Cup with a confrontation with Cape Verde on June 15.
In the group stage, they will also face Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. With the current force, it would be a big shock if Spain could not win a ticket to the knockout round.
Meanwhile, Serbia cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup when they only ranked third in the qualifiers with 13 points after 8 matches.
Coach Veljko Paunovic's team is 1 point behind second-placed Albania and 11 points behind top-ranked England, with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses.
Due to not participating in the World Cup, Serbia's next goal will be the UEFA Nations League, where they will start their campaign with a match against Greece at the end of September. Before that, Serbia will play friendly matches, respectively against Saudi Arabia (March 31) and Mexico (June 4).
In the past, Serbia has faced Spain three times. In the most recent meeting in October 2024, they lost 0-3, while previously they drew 0-0 with La Roja in September of the same year.
Personnel situation
Luis de la Fuente is likely to maximize his strength in the upcoming friendly matches. However, a familiar squad is still expected to start from the beginning, with Lamine Yamal being a noteworthy name in the attack.
Ferran Torres and Mikel Oyarzabal may be present in the front line, while the midfield pair Rodri - Pedri are likely to start in midfield.
In defense, Marcos Llorente is considered for the right-back position, while Dean Huijsen can start from the beginning. In goal, Unai Simon is still the priority choice despite competition.
Notably, a series of important names are not on this list such as Fabian Ruiz, Mikel Merino, Pablo Barrios, Gavi, Alvaro Morata and Nico Williams.
On the Serbian side, Aleksandar Mitrovic still maintains impressive form at the age of 31 and aims to increase his 63-goal record for the national team.
Luka Jovic - who has scored 11 goals for Serbia - will be present in the attack, while Nemanja Gudelj is preparing to reach the milestone of 75 caps for the national team.
Serbia possesses an experienced squad, with Nikola Milenkovic expected to be an important support in the defense in the confrontation with Spain.
Expected lineup:
Spain: Simon, Llorente, Laporte, Huijsen, Cucurella, Rodri, Zubimendi, Pedri, Yamal, F. Torres, Oyarzabal.
Serbia: Rajkovic, Pavlovic, Milenkovic, Erakovic, Terzic, Gudelj, Milinkovic-Savic, Lukic, Kostic, Mitrovic, Jovic.
The match between Spain and Serbia takes place at 3:00 AM on March 28 (Vietnam time).
