A first-half goal from Alvaro Morata was enough to give Spain a 1-0 win over Ukraine in their Euro 2016 qualifier in Seville this evening.

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The hosts had a couple of chances to open the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes when Morata was twice played in by Andres Iniesta, but the striker could not find the back of the net early on.

Andriy Pyatov had to be alert in the Ukraine goal when Koke tried his luck from range, but it was watched all the way by the keeper, who managed to tip it behind.

The visitors had a chance on the counter-attack when Ruslan Rotan won the ball on the edge of the box, but his curling finish went just wide.

The defending European champions took the lead with just under half an hour gone as Koke found Morata, leaving the Juventus striker to chip the ball beyond Pyatov as the keeper rushed out to attempt to block the shot to hand the striker his first senior goal for Spain.

Morara thought that he had added a second before the end of the first period when he turned the ball in from close range, but Juanfran had been in an offside position in the build-up, resulting in the goal being disallowed.

Iker Casillas was called into action for the first time shortly after the restart when Rotan tried to squeeze the ball in from a free kick, but the Spanish keeper tipped the ball around the post.

Ukraine continued to threaten early in the second half as Rotan found himself in space again, blasting the ball towards the Spain goal only to see his effort blocked by Casillas again.

Artem Kravets played the winger in again as the visitors pushed for an equaliser, but his finish was straight at the Spain keeper, leaving Casillas with an easy stop.

Spain could have put the result beyond doubt in the final minutes when Isco teed up Santi Cazorla for a shot from outside the box, but the Arsenal player's effort finished just wide of the post.

The result keeps Spain second in the Group C table, three points clear of Ukraine, who stay third.

Written by
Sian Cowper