Spain began their World Cup qualifying campaign with a close 1-0 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Murcia in a game that saw David Villa score and miss a penalty. Goal.com watched the game, analysed it and then gave the players marks out of ten for their performances…

Spain

Iker Casillas 6 - Did not have much to do behind a defence that kept their hosts at bay with relative ease, but what he had to do he did well.

Sergio Ramos 7 - Enjoyed playing his usual role of changing up and down the flanks, but did not have as much affect as normal with no target man to aim for.

Joan Capdevila 6 - Nowhere near as effective as he has been in previous games either down the wing or at set pieces, but he did just about enough to stay on.

Carles Puyol 8 - The rock at the back for Spain. The Barça defender made some crucial tackles in both halves and was cheered by the crowd for his efforts when coming away from tackles with the ball.

Raúl Albiol 6 - With Bosnia only playing only one up front it was always likely that one of the two Spanish central defenders would have a quiet evening and it was him.

Marcos Senna 7 - Had a fizzing shot that hit the crossbar and sat in the midfield and won so many balls. A higher mark had he had more to play against.

Cesc Fàbregas 7 - If he had not set up the goal the mark would have been lower, but the lack of space in midfield meant that he found it hard to perform.

Xavi Hernández 8 - Had to wait until the second half to really come to life because of the space issue in midfield, but always looked comfortable and in control.

Andrés Iniesta 9 - The Barça midfielder grew as the game wore on and he showed just how important he is to the Spanish team with some great touches and powerful running.

Diego Capel 8 - Spain’s liveliest player as he constantly asked Bosnia questions and will definitely retain his place, but he did show the odd touch of inexperience at the highest level with some headless runs.

David Villa 7 - He may have scored the goal, but on his own up front the Euro 2008 star was not effective and his penalty miss was also a lack of concentration.

Subs

Xabi Alonso 7 - Came on and showed calm and security when it was needed with a couple of strong tackles and some neat passes.

Santi Cazorla n/a

Dani Güiza n/a

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Kenan Hasagic 7 - Ensured that Spain’s advantage remained at one with some good saves and showed that his positioing was very good as he made some stops look easy.

Dzemal Berberovic 5 - Did not do much wrong and his exit was tactical as Bosnia looked to shuffle their pack just after going behind.

Safet Nadarevic 6 - None of the Bosnian back four should think that they did a bad job because Spain were restricted for long periods.

Ivan Radeljic 6 - Another representative of a team that could certainly go further in Group Five than many have predicted-.

Elver Rahimic 6 - If Spain had made some more of their chances count then it could have been a different marking system, but player slike him meant the hosts were kept out.

Dario Damjanovic 6 - Showed some good touches and was evidently hampered by the team orders to sit back before playing on the break.

Sejad Salihovic 5 - Could have done more on the break, but was blunted when it mattered most and he will have to improve next time.

Zvjezdan Misimovic 6 - The visitors’ best player in the first half but he appeared to become frustrated after the break with his team’s inability to find a way through.

Samir Muratovic 5 - The tactics may have also stopped him from playing his normal game, but there was little he could to stop the defeat.

Edin Dzeko 6 - Caused Spain some problems with his height and strength, but looked slow in his reactions and movement and was tackled too often at the crucial moment.

Admir Vladavic 5 - Did not register a chance of any real note all evening and that could be down to him, although that may be seen as a bit harsh.

Subs

Vedad Ibišević 6 - Came on and looked lively, but did not change the visitors’ outlook enough to have any real influence.

Senijad Ubricic n/a

Miralem Pjanic n/a

Ref From Lucas Brown, Goal.com