Spain defeated Kosovo 3-1 on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier overshadowed by a pre-match diplomatic dispute.

Goals from Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and second-half substitute Gerard Moreno put Spain on top of Group B in the race to qualify for the 2022 finals in Qatar.

The political controversy stemmed from the description of Kosovo as a “territory” by the Spanish Football Federation when it published Spain’s fixtures in a group also containing Sweden, Greece and Georgia.

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