MADRID, 13 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s soccer team would face Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria in the qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada if it won the Nations League quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands, while Poland Finland, Lithuania and Malta would be their rivals if they lose, according to the draw held this Friday at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland).
If Luis de la Fuente’s men beat the Dutch in the two-legged tie to be held in March, they would be placed in Group E and would face Real Madrid’s Turkey, Arda Güler, and Valencia’s Georgia, Giorgi. Mamardashvili and with Bulgaria.
If they lose to Ronald Koeman’s team, ‘La Roja’ would go to Group G, where Barcelona player Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta will be.
Thus, Spain hopes to be one of the 16 qualified for the American event and continue without missing a major international event; None has been lost since the 1992 Euro Cup. The qualification will be held between March and November 2025 and will consist of a total of 12 groups of four or five teams each.
Only the first in each group will get a direct ticket for the World Cup, while the second and the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024-25 Nations League who did not finish this phase either first or second will seek the remaining four through some ‘play-offs’ that will consist of four qualifying rounds of four teams each, with two semi-finals and a single-match final in March 2026 to decide the last winners.