Spain cruise to 3-0 win in Bulgaria while Turkiye hold off Georgia fightback as Group E of World Cup qualifiers begins.Published On 4 Sep 20254 Sep 2025Spain 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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listSpain 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 SpainArsenal 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. T …
