Spain secure World Cup spot despite tough draw against Turkey

Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain celebrates with Dani Olmo

Spain sealed their place at next year’s FIFA World Cup finals despite a frustrating 2-2 draw with Turkey in Seville, equalling Italy’s record of 31 competitive fixtures without defeat after a tougher night than expected.

La Roja had all but mathematically secured their place at next year’s tournament, barring a gargantuan seven-goal defeat which seemed beyond the realms of possibility.

The hosts were eager to quickly rubber-stamp their plane tickets across the Atlantic, and took a fourth-minute lead when Dani Olmo showed neat footwork to rifle home a close-range finish after Fabian Ruiz scuffed his connection with Marc Cucurella’s cross.

It seemed to be only a matter of time before Luis de la Fuente’s side added a second, as Altay Bayindır parried over two ferocious long-range efforts from Olmo.

However, Vincenzo Montella’s side ripped up the script when Deniz Gul caught Spain’s defence napping from Orkun Kokcu’s corner, and scored his first international goal with a fine opportunistic finish.

The visitors continued that momentum into the second half, with Unai Simon forced into a fine save to parry over Baris Alper Yilmaz’s stunning bicycle kick attempt.

Montella’s players were now the ones looking sharper, and took a deserved lead when Salih Ozcan drilled in a superb right-footed finish to also net a first goal for his country.

Their lead lasted just a mere eight minutes though, with Mikel Oyarzabal tapping the ball in from point-blank range after Merih Demiral cleared Yeremy Pino’s initial shot off the line.

Turkey were in no mood to bow down against the world’s No.1 ranked side, and Spain were indebted to Simon for brilliantly parrying away Yilmaz’s ferocious strike to safety.

De la Fuente’s side were looking largely unconvincing, but Ferran Torres should have moved them back in front when he flashed his shot wide.

Fermin Lopez thought he had won the match late on, but the effort was ruled out for offside, with the points ultimately shared.

It may not have been pretty, but La Roja got the job done to secure their place at a 13th consecutive World Cup finals. Meanwhile, the Crescent Stars will take plenty of confidence from giving the reigning European champions a real fright, and can look ahead to the playoffs in March with genuine belief of securing a place at the tournament for the first time since 2002.

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