Reigning European Champions Spain beat Bulgaria 3-0 as they enjoyed a razor-sharp start to their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
2026 World Cup qualification Europe
0-3
Match Report
Spain got off to a winning start in their opening World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria, with a fine 3-0 victory in Sofia. Luis de la Fuente sprung a minor surprise with his choice for the number nine spot, starting Mikel Oyarzabal at number nine, and with Fabian Ruiz out of action, Pedri starting in midfield with Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino. Robin Le Normand was also back in the starting line-up, partnered with Dean Huijsen.
Those choices were rewarded early on, with Zubimendi playing some outstanding football, and slipping the ball into the feet of his former Real Sociedad teammate Mikel Oyarzabal within the box. His touch was good, and he finished to open the scoring within five minutes. La Roja continued to bomb forward down the right, inspired by Lamine Yamal, and his cross was only-half cleared to Marc Cucurella on the half hour mark, before the Chelsea defender unleashed a fierce strike back across goal to double the lead, opening his account in international football.
Before the break, a Lamine Yamal corner then found Merino in the six-yard box unmarked, all but finishing the game as a contest. Both Merino and Lamine Yamal passed up glorious chances to further their lead, but goalkeeper Svetoslav Vutsov and defender Kristian Dmitrovic were both on hand to make excellent saves.
The second half followed much the same pattern, but without the same fortune in front of goal. Lamine Yamal, so dangerous creating for his teammates, had a second chance go begging when he was found in the box with a chance from the penality spot, but Vutsov was out quickly. Similarly, after nice interplay found Merino on the edge of the box, he made the crossbar shake with his effort.
The headlines from the second half came from the bench. For the first time, de la Fuente got a look at Pau Cubarsi partnering Dean Huijsen, without incident, and there were first international appearances for Dani Carvajal and Rodri Hernandez since their cruciate ligament injuries. There was also a debut for Jesus Rodriguez off the bench, replacing Lamine Yamal on the right, with some bright touches.
De la Fuente will look towards a Sunday night clash with Turkiye in Konya with all of his players available, and a relatively relaxed win under Spain’s belt. They top the group ahead of their Sunday rivals on goal difference, after Turkiye beat Georgia 3-1 in their opener.
Line-ups
Bulgaria XI: Vasil Panayotov, Radoslav Kirilov, Ivaylo Chochev, Aleksandar Kolev, Anton Nedyalkov, Nikolay Minkov, Kristian Dimitrov, Svetoslav Vutsov, Fabian Nürnberger, Ilia Gruev, Emil Tsenov
Subs: Georgi Milanov, Zhivko Atanasov, Kiril Despodov, Dimitar Mitov, Ivan Dyulgerov, Andrian Kraev, Martin Minchev, Vladimir Nikolov, Lukas Petkov, Marin Petkov, Hristiyan Petrov, Rosen Bozhinov
Spain XI: Le Normand, Merino, Unai Simón, Cucurella, Oyarzabal, Martín Zubimendi, Porro, Pedri, Nico Williams, Dean Huijsen, Yamal
Subs: Morata, Carvajal, Grimaldo, Álex Remiro, A.García, David Raya, Olmo, Rodri, Ferran Torres, Fermín López, Cubarsi, Jesús Rodríguez