Overview
Spain has not yet officially won a ticket, but they are almost certain to participate in the World Cup next year.
Coach Luis de la Fuente's team has won all 5 qualifying matches, scored 19 goals and kept a clean sheet in all matches. The 4-0 away win over Georgia helped La Roja consolidate their lead in Group E and set a record for the longest unbeaten streak in official matches (30 matches).
Mikel Oyarzabal marked his 50th international debut with a double, while Arsenal's Martin Zubimendi and Barcelona's Ferran Torres also scored. Spain only need to avoid losing by 7 goals against Türkiye to win tickets to tournaments in the US, Canada and Mexico.
La Roja will confidently win, especially when they have won all 4 recent matches against Türkiye. Including a 6-0 victory in the first leg in Istanbul in September.
The defeat to Spain was Turkey's only bad result in the qualifying campaign. They have won the most points in matches against Georgia and Bulgaria, both at home and away.
This team has secured a top 2 spot after a 2-0 home win over Bulgaria, thanks to a penalty from Hakan Calhanoglu and an own goal from Atanas Chernev.
Turkey knows they will have to go through the play-offs if they want to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since finishing third in 2002.
Although the possibility of winning by a margin of almost 7 goals is unimaginable, Turkey will go to Sevilla in the hope of defeating Spain in an official match. The last team to do so was Scotland in the EURO qualifiers in March 2023.
If they want to do that, coach Vincenzo Montella's team must score against La Roja, something no team has been able to do since the Nations League final against Portugal last summer.
However, the desire to create a surprise could be difficult because Turkey have not won against Spain in the last 9 confrontations (lost 6, drawn 3).
Personnel situation
Spain entered the international break without a number of key players such as Pedri, Rodri, Dani Carvajal and Lamine Yamal due to injury.
Yeremy Pino could be used to refresh the attack if De la Fuente decide to change the starting lineup.
Mikel Oyarzabal continues to maintain his impressive form, scoring 8 goals in his last eight international appearances.
For Turkey, Fenerbahce midfielder Ismail Yuksek will be absent due to suspension after receiving a second yellow card in the qualifying campaign. Galatasaray defender Kaan Ayhan was forced off in his most recent match due to injury.
Abdulkerim Bardakci and Kerem Akturkoglu hope to recover in time to participate, after being absent from the recent training session due to injury.
Expected lineup:
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Merino, Zubimendi, Ruiz, Torres, Pino, Oyarzabal.
Turkey: Cakir, Celik, Demiral, Bardakci, Kadioglu, Calhanoglu, Kocu, Aydin, Guler, Yildiz, Akturkoglu.
The match between Spain and Türkiye takes place at 2:45 am on November 19 (Vietnam time).
