There was a rest for Turkish international Arda Güler as his national team coach Vincenzo Montella left him on the bench as his side secured an impressive 2-2 draw with Spain, as the Spanish side secured World Cup 2026 qualification.
The game at La Cartuja was played out in front of a scarce crowd with only 30,000 spectators at a half-empty stadium in Seville. Those who did attend were rewarded with an early goal as Dani Olmo poked in from six yards out on four minutes.
Turkey hit back against the
run of play shortly before half-time as Porto striker Deniz Gül got the final touch in a goalmouth scramble to level the scoreline.
In the second half, Borussia Dortmund’s Salih Özcan scored a wonder-strike from 25 yards to give Turkey the lead, rifling the ball into the bottom corner with a rocket of a shot from well outside the penalty box.
Turkey’s lead lasted only eight minutes as Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal equalised for Spain, fortunately benefitting from a poor clearance and tapping in to make it 2-2.
The result means that Turkey will now head into a play-off round, where they could face sides including Italy, Albania, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Kosovo or Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Spain, meanwhile, booked their place in the United States, Mexico and Canada, ahead of Turkey in second place with a three-point advantage.
No Real Madrid representatives for Spain
The only Real Madrid player called up to Luis de la Fuente’s squad was Dean Huijsen, who had to withdraw ahead of the game against Turkey with a muscle strain which has seen him return to Valdebebas for testing.
While Huijsen is not expected to be sidelined, possibly even returning in time for the visit to Elche this weekend, he was the only Los Blancos player in the Spain camp.
Fellow international Dani Carvajal remains out with injury of his own, but is expected to be considered by the coach for the squad to travel to the Americas in the summer.
