Spain took a very big step towards the 2026 World Cup with a convincing victory over Bulgaria at the “Jose Soria“ stadium in Valladolid, BTA reported.
But today's success not only helped them get closer to mathematical qualification, but also allowed national team coach Luis de la Fuente to set a new record. Today he equaled Vicente del Bosque's historic streak of 29 consecutive matches without defeat during his time at the helm of "La Furia".
Two rounds before the end of the qualifiers in Group "E" on the road to the 2026 World Cup in North America, Spain is in the lead with 12 points from 4 matches, ahead of Turkey with 9, Georgia with 3 and Bulgaria with no assets.
And while the pre-match press conference lasted 50 minutes, today the coach of the European champions answered with a smile for just over half an hour, addressing journalists by first name.
“The most important thing in this team is the team, their dedication, commitment and this desire for more, they always have it. They are hungry for victories“, he stated categorically. And he made the connection that the press conference room today was the converted dining room used by the Real Valladolid players.
Regarding the development of the match, he admitted that the 4-0 victory was not as easy as it might have seemed from the stands.
“We had to fight and be constant. Bulgaria defended very well in a low block and we had difficulty converting our chances in the first half“.
Nevertheless, he expressed his great satisfaction with everyone's contribution, emphasizing the high level of rotations, the strong involvement of the reserves and the team's commitment at every moment of the match.
Asked about the names he would single out today, De la Fuente emphasized the commitment of Pedri and Mikel Merino. He said of Pedri that “he has talent, attitude and dedication to the national team“, and described Merino as “a very complete player, capable of adapting naturally to different positions“.
Forwarders Samu Omorodion and Borja Iglesias had their chances, but were unable to overcome the excellent Bulgarian goalkeeper Svetoslav Vutsov today. De la Fuente, however, is pleased with them: "They worked very well throughout the match. We put Samu on the bench with the main task of opening up spaces and he did it. I'm also pleased with Borja. And if they concede once, they'll score another time".
Asked how he felt after equalling Vicente del Bosque's achievement of leading the national team to 29 matches without defeat, the team's coach said he was proud of this fact.
"It's an honour to equal a figure like Vicente del Bosque, whom I deeply admire. He's the coach who made Spain world champions. But the credit for this series goes to the players. I mean, we haven't qualified for the World Cup in America yet. We have two more tough matches ahead of us, with Georgia and Turkey.
The captain of the Spanish national football team, Unai Simón, has improved his own record for a national goalkeeper without conceding a goal. After the 4-0 victory over Bulgaria today, the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper has now spent 419 minutes in front of the Spanish goal without conceding a goal.
We have to give our all in every match, Simón began. And when asked how serious the favorite is now, he added: "Ultimately, I think this team has to prove that it can compete in every match and regardless of the opponent, be it Bulgaria or Portugal. Just like it did in the Nations League," he emphasized.
But I think the most important thing is that we have a team that can face anyone. Now we have to secure a place in the World Cup at the last training camp in November and we are still working on that“.
Asked how easy the match against Bulgaria was for him, he said: “These matches look easy and maybe they are, but the most important thing is to stay focused the whole time. There is no team that does not create at least one chance. And if you are not in shape, you concede a goal and you create problems for your teammates“.
The goalkeeper said that the dressing room is calm because “this squad has a wide range of players“.
In fact, he noted the absences of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, who were replaced by Alex Baena, Jesus Rodriguez, Jeremy Pino and the possibility of Mikel Oyarzabal changing his position. And yet, Spain's game went very smoothly. "I don't know if we are favorites for the World Cup, but I'm happy to be part of a really complete team".
Spain is at the top of the "E" group standings with 12 points, three more than Turkey. Georgia has 3, Bulgaria has 0, and only the first place team will go directly to the 2026 World Cup.