While the majority of the world’s great national teams were doubting, pouting or ‘what-abouting?’ over the last few days of the September international break, Spain got on with routing Turkey in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Sunday. It was a recital of football which underlined that, on their day, the European champions remain the most exciting, devastating and irresistible team in the world.
If you didn’t see their 6-0 thrashing of Vincenzo Montella’s team which featured Real Madrid’s Arda Güler, Inter Milan’s Hakan Çalhanoglu and Fenerbahce’s Kerem Aktürkoglu then, please believe me, it was not just a big score against a team which hasn’t shipped six at home for 41 years — it was sublime, choral football.
Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Çakır was by far their best player (let that one sink in). Spain started without six of the XI which won the European Championship last summer, and yet La Roja‘s second goal came from 75 seconds of possession, 25 passes, 66 touches on the ball with every single one of Luis De La Fuente’s team having been involved in the move at least once.
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Meanwhile, Germany fell to Slovakia (No. 52 in the FIFA World Ranking) — Die Mannschaft‘s first-ever away defeat in the history of their World Cup qualifying campaigns (56 matches) — and England bored their fans into snores while edging narrowly 2-0 past 174th-ranked Andorra (population 82,000).
Netherlands snuck a 3-2 win against 143th-ranked Lithuania in Kaunus, having stumbled 1-1 against Poland at home a couple of days earlier, while 2018 World Cup and 2023 Nations League finalists Croatia, still boasting Luka Modric, squeaked home 1-0 against 142th-ranked Faroe Islands (population 54,000).
Italy — having had to sack their coach, Luciano Spalletti, following a 3-0 humbling against Norway — beat minnows Estonia 5-0, the same scoreline by which Portugal won in Armenia with a 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo still leading the line (and scoring goals).
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But what of the South American behemoths? World champions Argentina won 3-0 against a weak Venezuela, but there was a bust-up in the tunnel after half-time and, postmatch, Lionel Messi stunned the world by announcing that “the most logical thing is that I won’t make it” to next year’s World Cup. We shall see.
Brazil also won 3-0 against bottom-of-the-group Chile, but they’ve needed to appoint a foreign coaching staff — Carlo Ancelotti and Paul Clement — for the first time in their proud history to do so. Plus, there’s a running spat with Neymar, who’s miffed at having been excluded from Ancelotti’s first squad.
Asian powerhouse Japan are going great guns, becoming the first country to qualify for next year’s World Cup in March. They claimed a creditable 0-0 draw in Mexico on Saturday and face United States on Tuesday,
So, there’s your worldwide context and a lens through which to view Spain’s performance. Now, back to La Roja.
Spain’s 6-0 win in Turkey was an exquisite recital of sublime football that has the European champions looking like World Cup winners in waiting. OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images
The summary is that they could easily have won 10-0, they danced across a cow-patch of a pitch in Konya, played with brutal intensity, never took their foot off the accelerator (nor the throat of Montella’s team) and Pedri played Ballon d’Or vote-winning football with Lamine Yamal not far behind (sadly, voting closed a week ago.) Once you watch the highlights, by all means take your pick of the favourite — but the 2-0 goal was pretty special. Maybe even all-time special.
By the time the move reaches Nico Williams just outside the penalty spot it has been uninterrupted Spain possession for well over a minute, 10 of La Roja‘s players have participated and the Athletic Club winger is in a position to have a shot, but he thinks Mikel Oyarzabal (who thus becomes the 11th man in the move) is in a better position. ‘Big Foot’ Oyarzabal thinks that Merino’s in an even better position, and once the ball’s zipped through three pinball penalty-box passes in three seconds the Arsenal man slots home with his left foot.
Merino is now on a run of six goals, plus two converted shootout penalties, in just six Spain appearances. In the absence of a true No. 9 (though converted winger Oyarzabal has a goal and three assists in the last two matches), he is La Roja‘s increasingly well-known ‘secret’ weapon.
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Possibly most interesting are Pedri and Lamine Yamal. In just under a fortnight, Yamal will become the youngest footballer ever to earn a podium place (whether he’s first, second or third) in the history of the Ballon d’Or. But the brutal truth is that, with the exception of 30 startling minutes against Mallorca, the 18-year-old has been far from his best or most effective for Barcelona this season.
Going on Spain duty has jolted him back to life. On day one he was teased, mercilessly, by Oyarzabal during training in the playful accusation that he’d dived the previous night when winning and converting a penalty at Rayo Vallecano. That’s not something he’s going to experience when working with Hansi Flick’s squad.
Then reigning Ballon d’Or holder Rodri admitted: “I didn’t want the cameras to catch me doing it but, yes, I told Lamine ‘Keep working and you can achieve whatever you want’ and I also told him ‘make sure you put yourself at the service of the team, and of football worldwide.’
“We’ve all seen footballers of huge talent who then go on to ‘lose’ themselves. Lamine really sees things clearly and he’s got people around him who support him with good advice. What I see is a happy kid, smiling and if he develops this massive talent he’s got it’ll be to the benefit of Spain.”
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Under a different spotlight, surrounded by guys who don’t rely on him the way his Barça teammates do, mixing with hard-nosed serial winners, the catalytic effect on this genius teenager has been notable. Three assists, probably the game-changing performance in Thursday’s 3-0 win in Bulgaria, and electrically good against Turkey with several defensive tackles in the mix. Not to mention him and Arda sparking a little ‘who you looking at?’ push-and-shove scuffle which bodes well for the ‘Morbo’ in the build-up to the next Clásico (Oct. 26, stream LIVE on ESPN+.)
Then there’s Pedri. There seemed to be three of him on the pitch in Turkey. Intercepting, tackling, blocking, running elegantly into space, creating chances, scoring and, late in the game when everyone else was running on empty, making lung-busting overlapping runs.
UEFA’s social media accounts posted: “Pedri makes excellence look so easy!” De La Fuente added, postmatch: “Pedri’s the best in the world in his position.” And that’s right.
What to do once Rodri — back again in these last two matches after long-term injury — Fabián Ruiz, Merino, Gavi, Dani Olmo plus Pedri are all fit and in top form at the same time? One thing’s for sure, Pedri will start. Probably with Rodri and Fabian. He’s that good, that important.
And now with three goals in his last four Spain matches, and only 22, and racking up appearances for club and country without a hitch, the outstanding assignments, scoring big goals and staying fit, are arriving long before he hits the peak of his career.
Spain are now two matches (home to Georgia and Bulgaria) away from equalling their all-time run of 29 competitive matches unbeaten (in normal or extra time).
Set aside Williams’ adductor injury (Athletic will be praying for a lad they so badly need for when the UEFA Champions League campaign begins) and this has been an outright stellar few days for Spain. They play the most delightful football in the world, and are best-placed to make their part in the World Cup an attractive prospect next summer.
