Spain has qualified to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a stressful 2-2 draw with Turkey in Seville, which demonstrated the tactical experience and psychological stability of the team deployed by Luis de la Fuente. This goal gave Spain the lead as leaders of the Group E, and they kept their streak of unbeatable matches with dominant defenses.
The hosts opened with a shocker as Dani Olmo turned a sharp cut back by Marc Cucurella in minute four. The assist showed how Cucurella had been becoming more influential in the build up play in Spain and the finish by Olmo showed that he was in sharp form after playing in the starting line first since the beginning of spring.
Turkey, which had to win to pass Spain, attacked. It happened to their benefit right before halftime as Deniz Gul took advantage of a lack of attention in marking, sliding the equalizer past Unai Simon. Ten minutes later, during the second half, Turkey struck a massive blow to the domestic audience, with Salih Ozcan firing a low shot to the corner, which brought the visitors a significant (although temporary) advantage.
Spain refused to falter. It did not take long to respond with Mikel Oyarzabal responding the quickest to a free ball in the box following the clearance of an Oyarzabal effort off the line in the 62nd minute. The referee brought about equality and Spain was able to control the situation in midfield and put a snail on the pace of Turkey.
The game boasted of excellent goalkeeping acts. Altay Bayindir of Turkey saved crucial shots that were directed to Olmo and this made Spain unable to gain momentum at the start of the game. At the other end Simon saved a spectacular overhead kick by Baris Yilmaz that saved the unbeaten status of Spain.
Even though Turkey had been spirited attacking at moments, the draw could only afford them a play-off chance. Spain, in its turn, is accompanied by England in the list of the only European teams that have not lost a single match during the qualifiers. Having been qualified they should now focus on the preparations towards the world cup stage in the USA, Mexico and Canada where the team hopes to continue its historic streak.
