The midfielder scored a free kick to seal the win against Serbia in Córdoba
Álex Baena helped guide Spain’s national team to a 3-0 win over Serbia at the Nuevo Arcángel in Córdoba. The midfielder from Almeria scored his country’s third goal with a brilliant free kick in the 77th minute.
In addition to Baena’s great performance, Pape Gueye’s Senegal also qualified from the group stage with a 1-0 win over Malawi. A goal by Sadio Mané in added time earned them qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations, which will be played in Morocco between December 2025 and January 2026.
Eric Bailly started and played all 90 minutes in Côte d’Ivoire’s 1-0 defeat against Sierra Leone. His fellow countryman Nicolas Pepe did not play in the match.
Ilias Akhomach also did not play in Morocco’s 4-0 win over the Central African Republic. Logan Costa, on the other hand, started in Cape Verde’s 1-0 defeat of Botswana. He left the field in the 69th minute.
The matches Villarreal players were involved in were the following:
Álex Baena (Spain):
- Spain 1-0 Denmark
- Spain 3-0 Serbia
Ilias Akhomach (Morocco):
- Morocco 5-0 Central African Republic
- Central African Republic 0-4 Morocco
Logan Costa (Cape Verde):
- Cape Verde 0-1 Botswana
- Botswana 1-0 Cape Verde
Nicolas Pepe and Eric Bailly (Côte d’Ivoire):
- Côte d’Ivoire 4-1 Sierra Leone
- Sierra Leone 1-0 Côte d’Ivoire
Pape Gueye (Senegal):
- Senegal 4-0 Malawi
- Malawi 0-1 Senegal
Iker Álvarez (Andorra):
- Moldova 2-0 Andorra
- Andorra 2-0 San Marino
