Spain vs Turkey is poised to be a highly entertaining clash as the two teams clash in their final match of the group stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification on Tuesday, 18 November.
The Spain vs Turkey match is going to be a particularly intriguing end to the group stages because of La Roja being desperate to secure their qualification for the World Cup. As Spain look to maintain their winning streak in the qualifiers, Turkey aim to pull off an upset and need to pick up a particularly HUGE win to be able to book a direct place into the World Cup.
Match Details
Estadio La Cartuja
Seville, Spain
Tuesday, November 18
19:45 GMT
Spirited Turkey Look To Pull off Near-Impossible Win Over Unstoppable Spain
The Spain vs Turkey match is going to be the final group game for both teams as Turkey look to pull off an upset against La Roja. Spain have been at their dominant best at the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers so far, having won all five matches, scoring 19 goals and not conceding a single goal in that period!
To their credit, Turkey have also performed really well as they have won four of their five matches and also scored a whopping 15 goals, including four in their recent win over Georgia. Turkey will, however, need to defeat Spain by 8-0 or something equal to that in order to jump over them and take up first place in Group E, which will book them a place in the World Cup.
Spain have won seven of their 13 matches against Turkey so far, with the most recent Spain vs Turkey clash seeing La Roja pick up a 6-0 win over the Turkish side in September 2025! La Roja look to replicate something similar to book their place in the World Cup in style.
Could In-Form Mikel Oyarzabal Secure World Cup Qualification for Spain in Style?
The big news for Spain ahead of the Spain vs Turkey clash is that they will not have the services of Lamine Yamal, who had to withdraw from the national camp because of an injury.
That means Luis de la Fuente should go with his trusted forward Mikel Oyarzabal to lead the frontline and inspire La Roja into producing some eye-catching attacking football against Turkey.
To his credit, Oyarzabal has been excellent in the World Cup qualifiers for Spain and has scored five goals in the period so far. The Real Sociedad forward will look to be a thorn in their defenders with his smart link-up play and off-the-ball movement to open up their defensive shape.
Oyarzabal needs to be clinical with the chances he gets and also try to create chances for those around him to help La Roja put on an entertaining display and secure World Cup qualification without any hiccups.
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Incredible Team Effort Necessary for Turkey To Pull off Upset Against Spain
The stacks are firmly against Turkey heading into the Spain vs Turkey match because of the crazy equations for them to be able to secure direct qualification into the World Cup.
Turkey would need to defeat Spain by an 8-0 margin or similar, and they haven’t come even close to getting that kind of a win against La Roja in the past. The biggest win Turkey have had over Spain is a 2-1 win at the 1967 Mediterranean Games, and they have to end a 48-year winless run against Spain in style.
However, Turkey will take the fight to Spain at their own yard and need to be at their ruthless best in converting their chances. Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, for one, needs to be smart in creating big chances and also converting them.
The likes of Juventus star Kenan Yildiz, Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and Turkey forward Kerem Akturkoglu need to be at their absolute ruthless best to be able to score multiple goals against this Spanish side that hasn’t conceded a single goal in the qualifiers so far and pull off this crazy story.
Spain vs Turkey Injuries
Spain injuries: Lamine Yamal, Dean Huijsen, Pedri, Robin Le Normand, Nico Williams, Gavi
Turkey injuries: Kaan Ayhan, Irfan Kahveci
Spain vs Turkey Predicted Lineups
Knowing the importance of this World Cup qualifier, both Luis de la Fuente and Vincenzo Montella will be determined to field their strongest teams. Here, we look at the Spain vs Turkey predicted lineups:
Spain predicted XI: Unai Simon, Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Martin Zubimendi, Fabian Ruiz, Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres, Alex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal
Turkey predicted XI: Ugurcan Cakir, Mehmet Celik, Mehdi Demiral, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Ferdi Kadioglu, Ismail Yuksek, Hakan Calhanoglu, Oguz Aydin, Arda Guler, Kenan Yildiz, Kerem Akturkoglu
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Seskim Photo TR
Recording Date: 15.11.2025
