"European champions Spain will begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a visit to Sofia to take on Bulgaria. These two nations are in Group E, along with Turkey and Georgia. The group winner will automatically qualify for the tournament, while the second-place team will enter the qualifying play-offs. Bulgaria are coming off a disappointing Nations League campaign where they failed to secure promotion to League B after losing to the Republic of Ireland in the play-offs."
"For Spain, manager Luis de la Fuente has had to make changes to his squad due to injuries to Gavi, Fabian Ruiz, and Yeremy Pino. Aleix Garcia and Jorge de Frutos have been called up as replacements. Lamine Yamal, who has been in excellent form for Barcelona, will be looking to continue his strong performances on the international stage. Ferran Torres, who is one appearance away from his 50th cap, could feature off the bench."
Spain open 2026 World Cup qualifying in Sofia against Bulgaria; Group E also contains Turkey and Georgia. The group winner qualifies automatically; the runner-up enters the play-offs. Bulgaria failed to earn promotion from the Nations League after losing to the Republic of Ireland and drew 2-2 with Cyprus before a 4-0 defeat to Greece. Bulgaria are the lowest-ranked team in the group and have not reached the World Cup since 1998. Spain are European champions, lost the Nations League final to Portugal, and have not lost an away match since March 2023. Bulgaria manager Ilian Iliev is expected to deploy a back five; Spain have injury absences and have called up Aleix Garcia and Jorge de Frutos, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres offering attacking threat.
Read at 101GREATGOALS.COM
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]