European champions Spain maintained their perfect start to World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 win over Georgia in Elche.

Luis de la Fuente's side shrugged off the absence of several key players with a confident display at the Estadio Martinez Valero, where Yeremy Pino fired them in front after 24 minutes.

Although Ferran Torres had his penalty saved by Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili before the break, Mikel Oyarzabal crashed in a superb free kick to secure a third straight Group E win.

Spain, who saw Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo join teammate Lamine Yamal on the injured list because of calf problem, had a claim for an early penalty after Torres went down under a challenge from Giorgi Kochorashvili.

However, when Lithuanian referee Manfredas Lukjancukas was advised to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, he decided there was no foul.

Spain maintained their momentum as Oyarzabal headed over from Pino's delivery to the far post.

The Crystal Palace winger then broke the deadlock in the 24th minute.

A corner was only half cleared, with Pedri floating the ball back into the penalty area, where defender Robin Le Normand laid it off for Pino to sweep home from close range.

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Spain spurned the chance to swiftly double their lead when Torres saw his penalty saved in the 28th minute.

Georgia keeper Mamardashvili had brought down Torres, with the spot kick confirmed by VAR.

The Liverpool man, though, made amends when he dived low to his left to deny Torres on his 50th international appearance.

Mamardashvili was soon called into action again with a reaction stop from Pedro Porro's strike.

Mikel Merino, who scored a hat trick in the 6-0 win over Turkey last month, headed just wide from Porro's curling ball in before the Arsenal midfielder then sent a shot against the top of the crossbar after turning in the box.

Oyarzabal forced Mamardashvili into another decent stop at the near post following a free-kick as Spain went into half-time on top but with only a slender advantage.

Spain made a strong start to the second half, with Torres shooting into the side netting from a tight angle.

Porro's curling left-footed strike then crashed against a post, with Oyarzabal seeing his follow-up effort from the rebound deflected on to the woodwork again by Otar Kiteishvili.

Spain, who next host Bulgaria in Valladolid on Tuesday, doubled their lead in the 64th minute when full-back Porro ran over the ball at a free kick just outside the box, allowing Oyarzabal to fire a left-footed strike up into the top corner.