Yamal shines as Spain sinks Bulgaria
Reigning European Champion Spain beat Bulgaria 3-0 as it enjoyed a razor-sharp start to its 2026 World Cup qualification campaign.
First-half goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella, and Mikel Merino ensured Spain made short work of their hosts in Sofia, where Lamine Yamal dazzled.
It took just five minutes for Oyarzabal to open the scoring for the visitors, with Arsenal's Martin Zubimendi providing an inch-perfect pass to put the forward one-on-one with the goalkeeper, before the Real Sociedad attacker dabbed it home.
Spain doubled its lead on the half-hour mark, as Marc Cucurella slammed a superb finish past Svetoslav Vutsov in the Bulgaria goal.
Eight minutes later, a corner from Yamal was met by the head of an unmarked Merino to put the game out of reach before half time.
Following the restart, the game was limited in clear-cut chances. However, Spain continued to probe, but was met by a tighter Bulgarian rearguard as the host successfully kept hold of some pride in its Group E opener.
After his recent Ballon d'Or nomination and last season's stunning exploits, Yamal showed his class here.
He once again delivered a standout display, ranking joint-first for chances created (two), while he was first for dribbles (11) and duels won (eight).
It was a dominant display from Luis de la Fuente's team, which finished with 24 shots.
It is now 21 games unbeaten and counting for Spain. It is its longest unbeaten run since a streak of 26 between 2011 and 2013.
