Spain 2-2 Turkey: La Roja qualify despite being held as Olmo & Oyarzabal net

Spain preserved their long unbeaten run to ensure they topped World Cup qualifying Group E by three points after a 2-2 draw with Turkiye.

Match Report

La Roja were all but sure of their spot at next year's tournament before kick-off in Seville on Tuesday, with Turkiye requiring a huge swing in goal difference to stand a chance of finishing top of the group.

Dani Olmo's excellent touch and finish got Spain off to a flying start in the fourth minute, but Luis de la Fuente's team failed to build on their lead, with Altay Bayindir impressive in Turkiye's goal.

Against the run of play, Turkiye drew level in the 42nd minute when Deniz Gul capitalised on sloppy defending from a set-piece.

And Spain's unbeaten streak looked in real danger as Salih Ozcan drilled a brilliant effort into the bottom-left corner early in the second half.

Yet Mikel Oyarzabal bundled home just six minutes later to restore parity, and though Spain were denied a perfect record in qualifying, with Samu Aghehowa heading over from inside the box and Fermin Lopez seeing a goal disallowed late on, they nevertheless confirmed their place in the United States, Canada and Mexico without too much fuss.

Data Debrief: Spain's run rolls on

It is now 31 competitive games unbeaten for Spain, which matches the longest run set by a team that has won the World Cup (previously by Italy), with De la Fuente taking charge of 26 of those (W20 D6).

Oyarzabal, meanwhile, finished this qualifying campaign on 10 goal involvements, trailing only Erling Haaland (18) and Memphis Depay (12) among European players.

And Oyarzabal is one of just three players, along with Ferran Torres and Alvaro Morata, to have scored more goals for Spain than Olmo (12) since the latter made his debut in November 2019.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

4' GOAL! Olmo opens the scoring for hosts so fast! Spain 1-0 Turkey

8' Fabian has a shot blocked by the defender

19' Highlight from Spain vs Turkey

29' Olmo turns around and goes for a goal but it's saved

39' Highlight from Spain vs Turkey

41' GOAL! Gül taps in to equalize before the half-time break! Spain 1-1 Turkey

54' GOAL! Özcan scores from distance to turn it around! Spain 2-1 Turkey

62' GOAL! Oyarzabal gets the rebound and fires home to equalize! Spain 2-2 Turkey

79' Highlight from Spain vs Turkey

Line-ups

Spain XI: Laporte, Llorente, A.García, Merino, Unai Simón, Cucurella, Fabian Ruiz, Oyarzabal, Olmo, Yeremy, Cubarsi

Subs: Álex Remiro, Iglesias, David Raya, Ferran Torres, Fornals, Martín Zubimendi, Dani Vivian, Álex Baena, Porro, Fermín López, Barrios, Samu Aghehowa

Turkey XI: İrfan Can Kahveci, Samet Akaydin, Zeki Çelik, Soyuncu, Demiral, Özcan, Altay Bayındır, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Orkun Kökçü, Deniz Gül

Subs: Mert Günok, Atakan Karazor, Uğurcan Çakır, Mustafa Eskihellaç, Y. Sari, Ahmed Kutucu, Mert Müldür, Oğuz Aydın, Güler, Yıldız, İsak Vural, Yusuf Akçiçek