Spain – Turkiye: Draw Ensures Spain Qualify For The World Cup Unbeaten As Turkiye Reach Playoffs (2-2)

Spain hosted Turkiye to play out a 2-2 draw in their World Cup qualifier. Goals from Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal for Spain and Deniz Gul & Salih Ozcan for Turkey ensured the game ended level. The draw confirmed Spain’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup unbeaten as group toppers as Turkiye finished 2nd in their group to qualify for the World Cup playoffs.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

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It’s been several decades since La Furia Española emerged in Spain & football became a way of life for Spanish people, replacing bullfighting as the main source of entertainment & inspiration for the nation. Years of persistence & heartbreak at the World Cup eventually led to Spain’s tiki-taka taking over the world as they won the 2010 FIFA World Cup with arguably their golden generation finally clicking and lifting the trophy.

This World Cup qualification campaign also reasserted Spain’s dominance at the global stage. Under Luis de la Fuente, Spain have become a force to contend with & a well-oiled machine that can score goals and defend and are notoriously hard to play against. Spain eventually finished this World Cup qualification campaign as toppers of Group E in the UEFA Qualifiers. And even more so impressively, they managed to do it unbeaten.

Furthermore strikingly, they nearly qualified with a 100% record. They won 5 games and this game was the only one they drew against a spirited Turkiye side who came back from going a goal down. Of course, the odds were stacked against Turkiye going into this fixture. They had to win by a seven goal margin to top the group and automatically qualify for the World Cup as group toppers ahead of Spain, but that was a rather unfathomable possibility.

The game sprang to life early on as Dani Olmo put Spain in the lead in the 4th minute. However, Turkiye came back from going behind with goals from Deniz Gul just before half-time and a goal from Salih Ozcan early in the second half put them in the lead. But Spain struck back to equalise via Mikel Oyarzabal in the 62nd minute as the game ended level.

In truth, Spain were missing several star players and starters going into this game with the likes of Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Robin Le Normand, Dean Huijsen & Rodri to name a few who couldn’t participate in the game due to injuries. But Turkiye eventually drew this game to the formidable Spanish setup under De la Fuente and qualified for the World Cup playoffs in 2nd place in their group as Spain asserted why they’re a force to contend with under the management of De la Fuente & why they’re one of the favourites to lift the World Cup trophy in the tournament next year.

Spain lined up in a 4-3-3 shape. Unai Simon started in goal with a back four of Marc Cucurella at left-back, with Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte at center-back with Marcos Llorente at right-back. The midfield three comprised Alex Garcia, Fabian Ruiz and Mikel Merino. While Dani Olmo started down the left, Yeremy Pino down the right and Mikel Oyarzabal as the central striker.

Turkiye lined up in a 5-4-1 formation. Altay Bayindir started in goal with Zeki Celik at right-back, and Ferdi Kadioglu at left-back with a back three of Samet Akaydin, Merih Demiral and Caglar Soyuncu at center-back. Irfan Can Kahveci started down the right flank, Baris Alper Yilmaz down the left flank with the midfield double pivot of Salih Ozcan and Orkun Kokcu. Meanwhile, Deniz Gul started as the main striker.

Spain Probe vs Turkiye Low Block As Olmo Draws First Blood

Luis de la Fuente’s Spain has redefined the post-tiki-taka era for the national side with a high-octane 4-3-3 that shifts to an asymmetric 3-2-5/3-1-6 in possession, focused on verticality, half-space occupation, and relentless pressing. With Llorente tucking in as a third center-back at times, it allowed Cucurella to push up higher into midfield or out wide & further ahead. This created a 3 at the back with Llorente-Cubarsi-Laporte, and a 2 with Garcia & Ruiz screening, and a 5 in front with Merino advancing, Olmo & Pino inverting, and Oyarzabal dropping deep in attack, in Spain’s 3-2-5. But it wasn’t uncommon for one of the back three advancing into midfield making it a 2-3-5 or 2-4-4.

In the opening minutes, this shape dismantled Turkiye’s press completely. The goal in the 4th minute stemmed from a long diagonal to Cucurella who was pinned high by Montella’s conservative wing-back Celik as he exploited the left channel. Cucurella’s run and whipped cross found Olmo ghosting into the box, and Olmo duly applied the finish.

Vincenzo Montella, the “little aeroplane” as he was called in his Roma days as a player, has instilled a pragmatic 5-4-1 setup for his Turkey side that balances defensive solidity with a prime focus on counter-attacks. In their OOP shape, Turkiye sat in their deep 5-4-1, with a compact back three & full backs tucking in to form a back five. While the midfield four stayed flat with the wingers doubling full-backs, as the pivot sat narrow centrally with Gul dropping to mark Merino.

Minute 2’ Spain’s 3-2-5 IP vs Turkiye’s 5-4-1 OOP

This frustrated Spain’s penetration as La Roja created only 5 big chances despite taking 21 shots.

Turkiye Hit Back To Take The Lead

In their IP shape, Turkiye also deployed a 3-2-5. Montella’s 5-4-1 to 3-2-5 build-up was centred around playing it safely with a 3-2 base of Akaydin-Demiral-Soyuncu and the midfield pivot of Ozcan & Kokcu, with wing-backs Celik and Kadioglu pushing selectively. Bayindir usually played it short to Demiral who circulated the ball as the pivot of Ozcan & Kokcu dropped deep to progress the ball with Kahveci and Yilmaz providing width, as Gul held up play up front.

Turkiye’s first-half build-up was laboured averaging only 21% possession & a 62% pass accuracy, perhaps as a result of Spain’s high press. However, Montella’s set up yielded dividends on restarts.

In the 42nd minute, Kokcu’s inswinging corner from the right deflected off Laporte and Cubarsi, falling to Gul, who instinctively finished, which was almost a classic second-ball scramble exploiting Spain’s zonal marking frailties.

Post-halftime, Turkiye’s build-up gained traction. Montella’s half-time tweak of pushing Kokcu higher into a 3-1-4-2 diamond allowed quicker vertical passing.

Turkiye’s 54th-minute goal highlighted this. Kadioglu’s deep cross deflected to Kokcu, whose chested lay-off found Ozcan in stride. Ozcan then hit a 25-yard thunderbolt that flew into the Spanish net, making it 2-1 to Turkiye.

Oyarzabal Equalises As The Game Ends Level

In their OOP shape, Spain sat in a 4-1-4-1 with a mid to high line. After taking the lead, Turkiye aimed to see out the game & to score more, but Spain weren’t willing to relinquish their unbeaten status in the qualifiers.

In the 62nd minute, Cucurella’s cross deflected wildly as Pino’s shot, initially blocked by Demiral off the line, ricocheted off Soyuncu into the path of Oyarzabal, whose sweeping finish made it 2-2.

With qualification secured, De la Fuente conserved energy as the Spanish boss turned to his bench. Spain’s shape became a compact 4-4-2 OOP, dropping the line, whilst prioritising counter- attacks over taking too many risks.

Minute 81’ De la Fuente shifts Spain’s late game OOP to a compact 4-4-2 shape.

Turkiye probed and created some half-chances but the game was largely managed by Spain even in the six minutes of added time past the ninety, as Spain kept the ball.

In the end, the game ended 2-2 as Spain qualified for the World Cup unbeaten in their qualifiers, whilst Turkiye made it to the playoffs.

Takeaways

This was yet another game where De la Fuente’s Spain side remained defiantly unbeaten. Without the likes of the injured Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, and Rodri, and others, Spain still managed to avoid defeat and qualify for the World Cup unbeaten, making them one of the favourites for lifting the trophy come next summer.

Turkiye, meanwhile, produced their most courageous performance of the qualifiers, but of course, the odds were stacked against them for direct qualification. In the end, Montella’s Turkiye side made the playoffs as they will look to book their seat in the grand spectacle that is to be held in America in 2026.