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, current champions of Europe and the League of Nations, beat the Dutch in the two-legged tie to be held in March, they would be placed in Group E and would face the Turkey of Real Madrid player Arda Güler, with Georgia of Valencian player Giorgi Mamardashvili and with Bulgaria.
The Ottoman team, which reached the quarterfinals of the last Euro Cup, is, a priori, the most difficult rival in the group; In addition to the Real Madrid midfielder, Vincenzo Montella’s team has men such as Inter footballer Hakan Çalhanoglu, Juventus striker Kenan Yildiz and Benfica midfielder Orkun Kökçü.
Meanwhile, Georgia already crossed the path of ‘la Roja’ in EURO 2024, with the Spanish victory in the round of 16 in Cologne (4-1). Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is their main offensive reference, and between the sticks they are well covered by the Valencian Giorgi Mamardashvili. Bulgaria, which Spain has not faced since Euro 1996, would be the other rival in Group E.
If they lose to Ronald Koeman’s men, ‘La Roja’ would go to Group G, where Barcelona player Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta will be. The Poles, recently relegated to League B of the Nations League, are not going through their best moment, but on paper they are the most important opponent in the group.
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.
“It is a draw that is very conditioned by what we are going to go through in March and I think that making hypotheses about what one group or another could be does not make sense at this moment,” said Pablo Amo, assistant to Luis de la Fuente who was absent in the draw due to his recent knee operation, in statements to the official media of the national team.
The former player made it clear that they must prepare “as best as possible” for the tie against the Netherlands. “We want to be in the ‘Final Four’, that involves two very difficult games and hopefully we can be in the group of four,” he said.
–CLASSIFICATION PHASE GROUPS.
GROUP A: Winner of Germany/Italy, Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg.
GROUP B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia and Kosovo.
GROUP C: Loser of Denmark/Portugal, Greece, Scotland and Belarus.
GROUP D: Winner of France/Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan.
GROUP E: Winner of the Netherlands/SPAIN, Türkiye, Georgia and Bulgaria.
GROUP F: Winner of Denmark/Portugal, Hungary, Ireland and Armenia.
GROUP G: Loser from the Netherlands/SPAIN, Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta.
GROUP H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and San Marino.
GROUP I: Loser of Germany/Italy, Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova.
GROUP J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein.
GROUP K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
GROUP L: Loser of Croatia/France, Czechia, Montenegro, Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.