"First-half goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella, and Mikel Merino ensured Spain made short work of their hosts in Sofia, where Lamine Yamal dazzled. It took just five minutes for Oyarzabal to open the scoring for the visitors, with Arsenal's Martin Zubimendi providing an inch-perfect pass to put the forward one-on-one with the goalkeeper, before the Real Sociedad attacker dabbed it home. Spain doubled their lead on the half-hour mark, as Marc Cucurella slammed a superb finish past Svetoslav Vutsov in the Bulgaria goal."
"Following his recent Ballon d'Or nomination and last season's stunning exploits, Yamal showed his class here. He once again delivered a standout display, ranking joint-first for chances created (two), while he was first for dribbles (11) and duels won (eight). It was a dominant display from Luis de la Fuente's team, who finished with 24 shots, with a whopping 12 of those on target, and 3.33 expected goals, while Bulgaria had only three attempts for a meagre 0.1 xG."
Spain opened their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Bulgaria in Sofia, with first-half goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino. Lamine Yamal produced a standout performance, creating chances and completing 11 dribbles while winning eight duels. Martin Zubimendi provided the assist for Oyarzabal's early opener and a Yamal corner set up Merino's header. Spain finished with 24 shots (12 on target) and 3.33 expected goals, compared with Bulgaria's three attempts and 0.1 xG. Spain extended their unbeaten streak to 21 matches, their best since Vicente del Bosque's 26.
Read at Soccer News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]