Spain have taken a 1-0 lead against Georgia at half time in their World Cup qualifying Group I clash at the Carlos Belmonte in Albacete.

Vicente del Bosque's side were the dominating team right from the start and created their first chance after eight minutes when Akaki Khubutia cleared a Jesus Navas cross off the line.

Alvaro Negredo headed Andres Iniesta's cross over the Georgian crossbar just minutes later and then had an audacious overhead kick denied by Giorgi Loria.

However, the Manchester City striker made no mistake in putting the reigning European and world champions ahead in the 26th minute when he turned in Iniesta's cross from close range.

© Getty Images

Georgia could have restored parity just past the half-hour mark when Nika Gelashvili shot on target, but Iker Casillas made a good save.

Negredo should have doubled his tally five minutes from the half-time interval when he found himself with the ball in a good position inside the visitors' penalty box, but he smashed his effort off the post.

Written by
Subhankar Mondal