Spain finished undefeated and top of Group E, despite being given a real scare by Torquier, who will be in the play-offs.
Published November 18, 2025
Spain secured their ticket to the 2026 World Cup with a 2-2 draw against Torquier in the final qualifying round as the leaders of Group E.
Torquier will qualify for the play-offs after finishing second on Tuesday and becoming the first team to drop points to Luis de la Fuente’s Euro 2024 champions.
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Dani Olmo opened the scoring for Spain, while Deniz Gul and Salih Ozcan scored for Turkiye, as the hosts conceded for the first time in qualifying.
Mikel Oyarzabal fought back in Sevilla to level the score for a Spanish team looking to win the biggest prize in soccer history for the second time.
Spain scored 21 goals in qualifying, conceding just two, and have not tasted defeat in 31 games in a row, a national record.
However, this result also includes the final in June, when Spain drew 2-2 with Portugal after extra time and lost on penalties.
Although Torquier showed that de la Fuente’s team is not perfect, Spain was missing several key players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Rodri.
They knew all they had to do to qualify was avoid a seven-point defeat, but that was never in the cards and they might have won had it not been for the inspired goalkeeping of Manchester United stopper Altay Baindir.
Marc Cucurella’s cross forced Olmo into the box, and he controlled well to get past the defenders and score the decisive goal in the fourth minute.
Barcelona’s playmaker twice came close to scoring his second goal from long-range shots, but Baindir turned both of his efforts over.
Tolkier became the first team to score in a qualifying match against Spain when Gulu scored the equalizer just before half-time, reacting quickly and knocking down a corner kick.
The visitors gained momentum in the second half and took the lead with some clever saves from Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ozkan scored a goal from the edge of the box after Olkun Kokku set the ball well.
Spain also fought back, and after Elemy Pino’s shot on the line was brilliantly blocked by Merih Demiral, Oyarzabal’s shot from close range was well deflected by another defender for the Real Sociedad forward.
It was Oyarzabal’s sixth goal in the qualifying campaign for Spain’s starting striker spot at the World Cup.
As Spain looked to take the lead, substitute Sam Agehowa came close to scoring, but Bindil blocked his header and Alex Baena also blocked, giving Turkiye a point.
Barcelona’s Fermin López found the net in stoppage time, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Scotland scored two dramatic stoppage-time goals to beat Denmark 4-2 in a 10-a-side competition and qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
A 1-1 draw at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina was enough for Austria in Group H, but Belgium beat Liechtenstein 7-0. Switzerland qualified with a 1-1 draw with Kosovo.
The 12 group winners will qualify directly, and the runners-up will participate in the playoffs along with the top four players who did not finish first or second in their group in the 2024-2025 Nations League.
Playoffs will be held on March 26th and March 31st.
The World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
