Rodri made his first start for Spain since 2024 but a 3-0 victory over Serbia at Villarreal's Estadio de la Ceramica was all about the finishing of Mikel Oyarzabal.

Oyarzabal struck twice in the first half to set the European champions on the path to a comfortable victory, lifting his strike rate to 11 goals in his last 10 matches.

Víctor Muñoz celebrated his debut by adding the third and the only surprise was that Spain were unable to deliver a more emphatic victory as they continued their preparation for the World Cup.

Rodri featured in the starting line-up for the first time in 18 months having made two substitute appearances earlier in the season upon completing his recovery from a serious knee injury.

Serbia were edged for a World Cup playoff place by Albania and they rarely offered any meaningful threat to the home side.

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The first-half belonged to Oyarzabal, with the Real Sociedad forward's two strikes rewarding the control enjoyed by Spain.

Marc Cucurella sent a dangerous early shot just over the crossbar and the World Cup favourites did not have to wait long to take the lead with the moving parts of their attack clicking into place in the 16th minute.

Lamine Yamal threaded the ball into the area and following a spin and pass by Fermín López and an intuitive leave from Alex Baenax, Oyarzabal was able to drive home his shot.

His second arrived two minutes before the interval when he was given time and space by a passive Serbian defence to pick out the top-right corner with a screaming shot.

The goal was Oyarzabal's 24th for Spain, behind only Alvaro Morata's 37 among active players.

Serbia thought they had a goal when Veljko Birmancevic stabbed the ball home but the whistle was blown for what was deemed to be a shove by the attacking midfielder on Cucurella.

Replays suggested Cucurella had slipped but with no VAR in place, referee Luis Miguel Branco Godinho was unable to check in the face of Birmancevic's calls to use the technology.

Muñoz stepped off the bench in the 64th minute for his debut and made his mark eight minutes later by firing the third with a slick finish after a back heel from Ferran Torres.

Dani Olmo looked certain to make it 4-0 in the closing stages but his powerful shot from close range was palmed to safety in a brilliant save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

Spain poured forward in search of the fourth goal but despite the pressure they were unable to hit the target again.

PA and ESPN Research contributed to this report.