Belarus have succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Spain in Sunday's Euro 2016 Group C qualifier in Borisov.

Both sides were evenly matched at the Borisov Arena, but despite the hosts' swashbuckling attack and resolute defending, they were undone on the stroke of half time.

An error of judgement from goalkeeper Andrey Gorbunov, rushing out to meet a Cesc Fabregas free kick and getting stranded among a mass of bodies in the box, saw the ball fall to David Silva.

The Manchester City striker duly controlled and lashed past the Belarusian defenders and into the net to score what would be the winning goal.

The result means that Spain remain on track to qualify in second place with 15 points - three off group leaders Slovakia - while Belarus are all but out in fourth and 11 points off the pace.

Here's how Sports Mole rated the players that took to the pitch in Borisov.

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Belarus

Goal

Andrey Gorbunov: His mistake on the stroke of half time, crucial though it was, was the only blemish in his performance. Inspired and reliable throughout. (7/10)

Defence

Igor Shitov: The full-back was not afraid to get stuck in and successfully ruffled opposition feathers time and time again. (7/10)

Egor Filipenko: Gave as good as he got on the pitch, getting stuck into challenges and receiving a handful too. (7/10)

Maksim Bordachev: Missed a great chance from a corner, but was hard to fault him for his defensive display. (7/10)

Aleksandr Martynovich: Not bad on the whole but appeared to struggle with pace in the second half. (6/10)

Midfield

Ivan Maevski: Had his moments charging up front on the counter, though the Spain midfield was usually open up at this stage. (6/10)

Pavel Nekhaychik: Battled well in the air and was decent and composed on the ball. (7/10)

Alexander Hleb: Easy to see why he's his country's star man. Some of the passes to his teammates in attack were sublime and not unlike those of Andrea Pirlo or Xavi. (8/10)

Sergei Kislyak: Could have been more composed in the final third at times, as some of his passes were misplaced or wayward. (7/10)

Maksim Volodko: A dogged and effort-laden performance from the BATE Borisov man, he kept snapping at the heels of the Spanish defence and gave them a hard time. (7/10)

Attack

Sergey Kornilenko: Made the most of what little service he had, keeping the Roja defence on their toes and coming close to scoring on a few occasions. (6/10)

Substitutes

Stanislav Dragun: Struggled to get onto the ball and failed to have much of an impact. (6/10)

Igor Stasevich: Likewise, struggled to get on the ball in the game and failed to have much of an impact. (6/10)

Anton Putsila: His only notable contribution was giving the ball away - too little time to do much with his side chasing the game. (5/10)

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Spain

Goal

Iker Casillas: Little came his way as the defence did its job, but pulled off a great save from a Kornilenko curler in the second half. (7/10)

Defence

Sergio Ramos: A typically dogged and crunching performance in defence for the Real Madrid man, although his heading prowess up front wasn't to its usually good standard. (7/10)

Juanfran: The full-back defended his flank solidly and timed his forward forays well. (7/10)

Jordi Alba: Was very effective coming forward and came close to scoring with some of his efforts. (7/10)

Gerard Pique: Won some crucial headers in the second half as the opposition came forward and sent high balls into the box. (7/10)

Midfield

David Silva: Made the most of a lucky chance and a goalmouth devoid of a goalkeeper to send a powerful and composed finish into the net past a crowd of defenders. (8/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Held his own well against a resolute and sometimes hard Belarus defence and dictated midfield well. (7/10)

Santi Cazorla: Sent some incisive passes through the hosts' well-drilled back line and dictated play well. (7/10)

Sergio Busquets: Kept play ticking and thwarted a number of promising Belarus attacks. (7/10)

Attack

Pedro: Not his best game in a red shirt, he struggled for space and was lucky not to be sent off for a hand-to-face challenge. (5/10)

Alvaro Morata: Responsible for some good forays into the final third but wasted a number of chances. (7/10)

Substitutes

Vitolo: His pace and endeavour down the line helped fashion two good chances for his side. (7/10)

Juan Bernat: Failed to have much of an impact. (6/10)

Isco: Got onto the ball and fired a shot wide. (6/10)

Written by
Giuseppe Labellarte