European qualification for the 2026 World Cup begins at this time, and all eyes will probably be on Sofia as reigning European champions Spain start their qualifying quest with a visit to Bulgaria. On paper, it seems like a straightforward victory for the Spanish, however in soccer, nothing is ever sure. Softfootball reviews.
For Bulgaria, the problem couldn’t be more durable. Ranked because the lowest crew in Group E, their dream of reaching a primary World Cup since 1998 already appears like a mountain to climb. The indicators haven’t been encouraging both. After lacking out on promotion within the Nations League play-off towards Eire earlier this yr, they adopted up with a winless June worldwide window, drawing as soon as and shedding as soon as.
The golden period of the Nineteen Nineties, when Bulgaria shocked the world by ending fourth at USA ‘94, appears like a distant reminiscence. Below coach Ilian Iliev, they’ve but to beat any aspect ranked contained in the world’s prime 70, and dealing with Spain is simply in regards to the hardest project they may ask for.
Spain, in the meantime, arrive in prime type to match their standing as European champions. They could have been denied a Nations League trophy after shedding to Portugal earlier this summer time, however that was their first aggressive defeat since March 2023. It is a clear indicator that this crew is aware of the way to win.
In World Cup qualifying matches alone, they’ve misplaced simply as soon as throughout their final seven editions, with a staggering report of 51 wins and 14 attracts. It might take one thing extraordinary for Bulgaria handy them a back-to-back aggressive loss for the primary time since late 2022.
Historical past, too, favours La Roja. Spain are unbeaten towards Bulgaria, successful 4 and drawing one, and their biggest-ever worldwide win got here towards the identical opponents, a thumping 13-nil victory. Whereas a repeat of that scoreline is unlikely, the hole in high quality between the 2 sides remains to be just about clear.
A lot will rely on the important thing males. For Bulgaria, Kiril Despodov is their shining gentle, with 15 worldwide targets to his title, only one fewer than the remainder of his teammates mixed. He has a behavior of placing first, along with his final three targets all being openers. Spain, alternatively, boasts Álvaro Morata, who accomplished a mortgage transfer from Turkish champions Galatasaray to Como in Italy this summer time, has scored greater than the complete Bulgaria squad put collectively. His 37 worldwide targets embody seven current strikes, every one in a match Spain received by no less than two targets.
Spain Soccer by way of its official X deal with posted an unique video of the crew’s arrival to Bulgaria forward of its first-ever essential World Cup qualifier match towards the host, watch beneath:
Each groups are near full energy, although Spain will miss Álex Baena via harm. which is anticipated to not be a lot of an issue, because the crew boasts depth and attacking high quality, La Roja are robust favourites to get off to a flying begin. For Bulgaria, it’s about pleasure, resilience, and maybe hoping for a type of magical nights the place the underdog writes historical past.
