Spain cruise to 3-0 win in Bulgaria while Turkiye hold off Georgia fightback as Group E of World Cup qualifiers begins.
Spain kicked off their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign with an emphatic 3-0 win in Bulgaria.
The Euro 2024 champions eased to a comfortable victory on Thursday at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia with first-half goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino.
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Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was able to bring on Rodri Hernandez and Dani Carvajal for their first international appearances in several months after both recovered from severe knee injuries.
Spain, who won the World Cup for the first and only time in 2010, are expected to top Group E, which also contains Turkiye and Georgia, to reach the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico directly.
This was the first time Spain have faced Bulgaria in more than 20 years, with the last competitive meeting at the 1998 World Cup.
Oyarzabal leads the line again for Spain
Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi set up his former Real Sociedad teammate Oyarzabal for the opener with a fine pass as Spain took the lead after five minutes.
Radoslav Kirilov hit the post for the hosts before Chelsea defender Cucurella thumped in to double Spain’s lead after the ball dropped into his path.
The game was effectively over before the break when Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal whipped in a corner, which Merino nodded home, reflecting Spain’s domination.
Arsenal midfielder Merino hit the crossbar in the second half as Spain continued to dominate. Teenager Yamal was bright and dangerous without scoring.
Man City midfielder Rodri and Real Madrid’s Carvajal made their long-awaited returns off the bench as De la Fuente shuffled his pack. They had missed seven and nine months each, respectively.
The coach also handed Jesus Rodriguez his international debut in the final stages, with the Como winger replacing Yamal to round off a fine evening for La Roja.
“We are incredibly demanding, [the players] most of all – they were disappointed with the second half,” said de la Fuente.
“We’re happy, but we have to keep taking steps forward.
Up next for Spain is another away game, a trip to Turkiye on Sunday, while Bulgaria travel to face Georgia the same day.
“[Turkiye] will be a higher-level game and more demanding,” the Spanish coach added. “We have to look to be better every day.”
Turkiye given last scare by Georgia
Turkiye won 3-2 away to Georgia earlier on Thursday in the other Group E match, but only after surviving a late scare.
The away side had been reduced to 10 men when Baris Alper Yilmaz was shown a straight red card in the 71st minute.
By that point, they already led through Kerem Akturkoglu’s strikes either side of the interval and a third-minute header from Mert Muldur.
Zuriko Davitashvili had pulled one back for the home side in the 63rd minute, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort eight minutes into injury time meant a more nervous finish than Turkiye had anticipated.
