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MADRID, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Spain took another step towards qualifying for the 2018 World Cup finals with a comfortable 4-1 win against Israel in Gijon on Friday night.
There were more empty spaces than expected in Sporting Gijon's El Molinon Stadium, but those who stayed away on a rainy night missed another confident display by the side coached by Julen Lopetegui.
Both teams sounded warnings before the opening goal with Thiago sending a long-range shot against the Israel crossbar before a loss of concentration from Gerard Pique almost allowed Eran Zahavy though on the Spain goal before the defender recovered his ground.
Spain opened the scoring though David Silva whose movement earned him space in the Israel area to take a pass from Jordi Alba and score with a low shot to net his 29th international goal.
Andres Iniesta shot narrowly wide for Spain before an error from Alba gifted the ball to Zahavy, who shot wide from around 25 yards out.
Spain doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime after Thiago received a pass from Thiago before beating the Israeli keeper, who perhaps could have done better with the shot.
Diego Costa sealed the win shortly after the break when he was allowed a free header from a corner with the visiting defense paying more attention to Sergio Ramos and Pique than the striker.
Silva then hit a shot against the post as Spain continued their dominance of the game, although Isael pulled a goal back with 11 minutes remaining when Lior Rafaelov scored from close range after Rami Gershon's header bounced back off the post.
Spain looked to slow things down for a moment, but a further goal from Real Madrid midfielder, Isco in the last minute of normal time sealed a comfortable and convincing win.
