FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

Spain vs Bulgaria, 2026 World Cup Qualifying - UEFA, Group Stage

· FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA
Spain
  • 35': Mikel Merino
  • 57': Mikel Merino
  • 79': Atanas Chernev (OG)
  • 90'+2': Mikel Oyarzabal (P)
FT
4 - 0
Bulgaria

    Arsenal's Merino leads Spain in rout of Bulgaria

    Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino extended his remarkable scoring spree to six goals in the last four World Cup qualifying matches with two in the 4-0 win against Bulgaria.

    Match Commentary

    • 0': Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
    • 0': First Half begins.
    • 2': Offside, Spain. Alejandro Grimaldo is caught offside.
    • 5': Foul by Dimitar Velkovski (Bulgaria).
    • 5': Mikel Merino (Spain) wins a free kick on the right wing.
    • 7': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Petko Hristov.
    • 8': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Martin Georgiev.
    • 8': Attempt missed. Martín Zubimendi (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Álex Baena following a corner.
    • 9': Attempt saved. Álex Baena (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria). Assisted by Mikel Merino.
    • 10': Foul by Ilia Gruev (Bulgaria).
    • 10': Pedri (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 11': Attempt blocked. Samu Aghehowa (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mikel Merino.
    • 14': Attempt blocked. Álex Baena (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alejandro Grimaldo.
    • 14': Offside, Spain. Álex Baena is caught offside.
    • 17': Attempt blocked. Álex Baena (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Pedri.
    • 17': Attempt blocked. Martín Zubimendi (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
    • 17': Attempt blocked. Mikel Merino (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mikel Oyarzabal.
    • 18': Attempt saved. Samu Aghehowa (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria). Assisted by Pedri.
    • 18': Attempt missed. Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
    • 19': Pedri (Spain) hits the bar with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Mikel Oyarzabal.
    • 23': Attempt blocked. Mikel Merino (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
    • 23': Attempt missed. Mikel Merino (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
    • 24': Attempt saved. Samu Aghehowa (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria).
    • 24': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Svetoslav Vutsov.
    • 26': Offside, Spain. Mikel Oyarzabal is caught offside.
    • 27': Attempt missed. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Pedri.
    • 30': Attempt missed. Pedri (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
    • 31': Attempt blocked. Samu Aghehowa (Spain) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alejandro Grimaldo with a cross.
    • 34': Attempt blocked. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
    • 34': Attempt saved. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria).
    • 34': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Svetoslav Vutsov.
    • 35': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Martin Georgiev.
    • 35': Goal! Spain 1, Bulgaria 0. Mikel Merino (Spain) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Robin Le Normand with a headed pass following a corner.
    • 37': Attempt missed. Samu Aghehowa (Spain) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Mikel Merino.
    • 38': Foul by Ilia Gruev (Bulgaria).
    • 38': Mikel Merino (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 38': Foul by Álex Baena (Spain).
    • 38': Martin Minchev (Bulgaria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 41': Attempt missed. Kiril Despodov (Bulgaria) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Stanislav Shopov following a fast break.
    • 42': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Dimitar Velkovski.
    • 44': Dimitar Velkovski (Bulgaria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 44': Foul by Pedro Porro (Spain).
    • 45': Fourth official has announced 0 minutes of added time.
    • 45': First Half ends, Spain 1, Bulgaria 0.
    • 45': Second Half begins Spain 1, Bulgaria 0.
    • 45': Substitution, Spain. Borja Iglesias replaces Samu Aghehowa.
    • 46': Attempt blocked. Álex Baena (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Pedro Porro with a cross.
    • 46': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Petko Hristov.
    • 47': Foul by Mikel Merino (Spain).
    • 47': Martin Minchev (Bulgaria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 49': Attempt missed. Martín Zubimendi (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
    • 52': Attempt saved. Borja Iglesias (Spain) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria). Assisted by Alejandro Grimaldo with a cross.
    • 54': Attempt saved. Borja Iglesias (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria). Assisted by Martín Zubimendi.
    • 54': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Svetoslav Vutsov.
    • 55': Attempt missed. Borja Iglesias (Spain) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Álex Baena.
    • 56': Attempt saved. Álex Baena (Spain) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria).
    • 57': Goal! Spain 2, Bulgaria 0. Mikel Merino (Spain) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Alejandro Grimaldo with a cross.
    • 58': Foul by Álex Baena (Spain).
    • 58': Petko Hristov (Bulgaria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 59': Attempt missed. Kiril Despodov (Bulgaria) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Filip Krastev with a through ball.
    • 60': Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain) wins a free kick on the left wing.
    • 60': Foul by Martin Georgiev (Bulgaria).
    • 63': Substitution, Spain. Aleix García replaces Martín Zubimendi.
    • 63': Substitution, Spain. Yéremy Pino replaces Álex Baena.
    • 63': Attempt missed. Radoslav Kirilov (Bulgaria) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Filip Krastev.
    • 65': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Petko Hristov.
    • 66': Filip Krastev (Bulgaria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 66': Foul by Pedro Porro (Spain).
    • 67': Substitution, Bulgaria. Zdravko Dimitrov replaces Radoslav Kirilov.
    • 67': Substitution, Bulgaria. Marin Petkov replaces Martin Minchev.
    • 67': Substitution, Bulgaria. Vladimir Nikolov replaces Kiril Despodov.
    • 68': Substitution, Spain. Pablo Barrios replaces Pedri.
    • 68': Attempt missed. Pablo Barrios (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Yéremy Pino.
    • 70': Delay in match because of an injury Robin Le Normand (Spain).
    • 71': Substitution, Spain. Dani Vivian replaces Robin Le Normand because of an injury.
    • 71': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
    • 75': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Martin Georgiev.
    • 76': Corner, Spain. Conceded by Zdravko Dimitrov.
    • 76': Attempt blocked. Yéremy Pino (Spain) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
    • 78': Attempt missed. Yéremy Pino (Spain) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Mikel Merino.
    • 79': Own Goal by Atanas Chernev, Bulgaria. Spain 3, Bulgaria 0.
    • 80': Attempt missed. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Yéremy Pino.
    • 83': Delay in match because of an injury Stanislav Shopov (Bulgaria).
    • 84': Substitution, Bulgaria. Kristiyan Stoyanov replaces Stanislav Shopov because of an injury.
    • 84': Delay over. They are ready to continue.
    • 85': Foul by Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain).
    • 85': Zdravko Dimitrov (Bulgaria) wins a free kick on the left wing.
    • 88': Attempt saved. Yéremy Pino (Spain) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Svetoslav Vutsov (Bulgaria). Assisted by Mikel Merino.
    • 88': Aymeric Laporte (Spain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 88': Foul by Vladimir Nikolov (Bulgaria).
    • 89': Substitution, Bulgaria. Andrian Kraev replaces Ilia Gruev.
    • 90': Filip Krastev (Bulgaria) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
    • 90': Foul by Aleix García (Spain).
    • 90': Fourth official has announced 3 minutes of added time.
    • 90'+1': Penalty Spain. Mikel Merino draws a foul in the penalty area.
    • 90'+1': Penalty conceded by Martin Georgiev (Bulgaria) after a foul in the penalty area.
    • 90'+2': Goal! Spain 4, Bulgaria 0. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
    • 90'+4': Second Half ends, Spain 4, Bulgaria 0.
    • 0': Match ends, Spain 4, Bulgaria 0.

    Statistics

    https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/bul.png&h=25&scale=crop&w=25&location=originBUL ESPhttps://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/countries/500/esp.png&h=25&scale=crop&w=25&location=origin
    6 Fouls 7
    0 Yellow Cards 0
    0 Red Cards 0
    0 Offsides 3
    0 Corner Kicks 11
    8 Saves 0
    22.4 Possession 77.6
    3 SHOTS 33
    0 ON GOAL 11
    0.0 On Target % 0.3
    0 Penalty Goals 1
    0 Penalty Kicks Taken 1
    175 Accurate Passes 757
    239 Passes 817
    0.7 Pass Completion % 0.9
    0 Accurate Crosses 5
    3 Crosses 32
    0.0 Cross % 0.2
    49 Long Balls 29
    24 Accurate Long Balls 23
    0.5 Long Balls % 0.8
    0 Blocked Shots 10
    4 Effective Tackles 4
    11 Tackles 8
    0.4 Tackle % 0.5
    7 Interceptions 3
    53 Effective Clearances 4
    53 Clearances 4

    Game Information

    Competition: FIFA World Cup Qualifying - UEFA

    Venue: José Zorrilla
    Location: Valladolid, Spain
    Attendance: 24,526

    WCQ - UEFA Standings

    # TEAM GP GD PTS
    1 Spain 4 +15 12
    2 Turkey 4 +3 9
    3 Georgia 4 -3 3
    4 Bulgaria 4 -15 0
    Full Standings

    Line-Ups

    ESP Spain (4-2-3-1)

    No. Name
    23 Unai Simón (GK)
    10 Aymeric Laporte
    3 Robin Le Normand
    17 Alejandro Grimaldo
    12 Pedro Porro
    6 Mikel Merino
    20 Pedri
    18 Martín Zubimendi
    19 Samu Aghehowa
    16 Álex Baena
    21 Mikel Oyarzabal
    Spain Substitutes:
    Aleix García, Borja Iglesias, Marc Cucurella, Yeremy Pino, Dani Vivian, Jesús Rodriguez, Álex Remiro, Marcos Llorente, Pau Cubarsí, Pablo Barrios, Jorge de Frutos, David Raya.

    BUL Bulgaria (4-5-1)

    No. Name
    21 Svetoslav Vutsov (GK)
    3 Atanas Chernev
    15 Petko Hristov
    22 Dimitar Velkovski
    20 Martin Georgiev
    14 Filip Yavorov Krastev
    23 Stanislav Shopov
    4 Ilia Gruev
    10 Radoslav Kirilov
    17 Martin Minchev
    11 Kiril Despodov
    Bulgaria Substitutes:
    Marin Petkov, Viktor Popov, Zdravko Dimitrov, Andrian Kraev, Kristiyan Stoyanov, Kristian Dimitrov, Dimitar Mitov, Hristiyan Petrov, Vladimir Nikolaev Nikolov, Dimitar Sheytanov, Ivaylo Chochev, Rosen Bozhinov.

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