First half blitzkrieg and merciful Spain

With a relentless attacking approach from the very first minute, Spain imposed their tempo and quickly struck three times away against Bulgaria. After that, it was just a matter of routine — protecting the lead.

Spain made a flying start in Sofia, taking the lead after just five minutes. Martin Zubimendi split the defense with a precise through ball, leaving Mikel Oyarzabal one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and the forward calmly slotted home to make it 1-0. The goal is HERE!

Oyarzabal nearly doubled his tally in the 12th minute, again set up by Zubimendi, but this time his close-range effort was stopped by the Bulgarian keeper. The hosts responded in the 20th minute with their first real chance, when Kirilov cut inside the box and struck the post — a slight deflection off Pedro Porro helping the ball onto the woodwork.

Just two minutes later, Spain carved out another huge opportunity. Lamine Yamal found himself clear on goal but couldn’t beat the keeper. However, Spain’s pressure eventually told again in the 30th minute. Yamal’s cross caused chaos in the box, the clearance fell to Marc Cucurella, and the full-back rifled a powerful strike into the net for 2-0. You can see the goal HERE!

Spain then extended their dominance in the 38th minute. Once more, Yamal was the provider, delivering a perfect cross onto the head of Mikel Merino, who nodded in to make it 3-0. This is the GOAL!

By the 42nd minute, Spain were in full control and even started to overplay. Oyarzabal set up Merino just five meters from goal, but the Bulgarian defense cleared the shot off the line to avoid further damage.

Spain entered the second half with a commanding three-goal cushion and noticeably lowered the tempo, focusing more on managing the match than overwhelming their opponent.

In the 48th minute, Lamine Yamal had the chance to extend the lead further when he broke free one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his shot went straight into the Bulgarian keeper’s arms. From that point on, Spain looked content to circulate possession and control the rhythm rather than push for more goals.

Bulgaria defended with more composure as the game went on, but they still found it difficult to create clear-cut chances against Spain’s organized back line. The visitors, meanwhile, threatened occasionally, most notably in the 81st minute when Dani Olmo struck from inside the box after a scramble, only for the home goalkeeper to come up with another fine save.

2026 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS - EUROPE

Thursday

Kazakhstan - Wales 0-1 (0-1)

/Moore 24/

Georgia - Turkey 2-3 (0-2)

/Davitashvili 63, Kvaratskhelia 90+8 - Muldur 3, Akturkoglu 41, 52/

Lithuania - Malta 1-1 (0-0)

/Gineitis 90+6 pen - Satariano 83/

Luxembourg - Northern Ireland 1-3 (1-1)

/Dardari 30 - Reid 7, Charles 46, Devenny 69/

Slovakia - Germany 2-0 (1-0)

/Hancko 42, Strelec 55/

Bulgaria - Spain 0-3 (0-3)

/Oyarzabal 5, Cucurella 30, Merino 38/

Netherlands - Poland 1-1 (1-0)

/Dumfries 28 - Cash 80/

Liechtenstein - Belgium 0-6 (0-1)

/De Cuyper 29, Tielemans 46, Theate 60, 70 pen, De Bruyne 62, Fofana 90+1/