Bulgaria 0-3 Spain result - Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino among the goals as La Roja win in World Cup qualifying

World Cup Qualification UEFA / Matchday 1
Vasil Levski Stadion / 04.09.2025
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FULL-TIME SCORES FROM OTHER MATCHES
Luxembourg 1-3 Northern Ireland (Group A)
Slovakia 2-0 Germany (Group A)
Netherlands 1-1 Poland (Group G)
Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium (Group J)
SPAIN KICK OFF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING CAMPAIGN IN STYLE
79% possession after 90 minutes. 24 shots, 12 of which were on target. La Roja breezed past Bulgaria with Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino on target in a 3-0 win.
Lamine Yamal continues to impress with every game he plays, dazzling left-backs everywhere with his trickery and this match was no different.
Thursday's game marked a couple of firsts for Luis de la Fuente's side, as Cucurella scored his first international goal after 18 appearances and 19-year-old Jesus Rodriguez made his debut for La Roja.
Spain top Group E after this result, level on points with Turkey who beat Georgia 3-2 earlier in the day.
The European champions will now look towards their clash with Turkey on Sunday while Bulgaria prepare to face Georgia on the same day.
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Image credit: Getty Images

90+2'
FULL TIME!
Bulgaria 0-3 Spain.
90'
STOPPAGE TIME
Two minutes added.
86'
HUIJSEN MASTERCLASS
Real Madrid's summer signing Dean Huijsen makes another brilliant challenge to cut out a Bulgaria attack.
82'
BULGARIA CHANGE
Milanov replaces Chochev.
G. Milanov
Substitution in
G. Milanov
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
I. Chochev
Substitution out
I. Chochev
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
81'
SPAIN PUSH FOR A FOURTH
La Roja come close to extending their lead after a clever break but fail to beat the goalkeeper.
79'
SPAIN CHANGE
19-year-old Jesus Rodriguez replaces Lamine Yamal to make his international debut for Spain.
J. Rodriguez
Substitution in
J. Rodriguez
Spain
Spain
L. Yamal
Substitution out
L. Yamal
Spain
Spain
77'
BULGARIA PUSH AGAIN
Marin Petkov rifles one at Unai Simon but the keeper had it covered.
Dean Huijsen cleverly moved forward to catch the Bulgarian forward in an offside trap.
75'
BULGARIA WITH A CHANCE
Spain are saved by a last minute Dean Huijsen challenge and the offside flag but the hosts looked dangerous for a second.
73'
BULGARIA CHANGE
A double change for the hosts as Minchev replaces Kirilov.
M. Minchev
Substitution in
M. Minchev
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
R. Kirilov
Substitution out
R. Kirilov
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
72'
BULGARIA CHANGE
Nikolov replaces Kolev.
V. Nikolov
Substitution in
V. Nikolov
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
A. Kolev
Substitution out
A. Kolev
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
70'
SPAIN CHANGE
Dani Olmo replaces Nico Williams with 20 minutes left on the clock.
D. Olmo
Substitution in
D. Olmo
Spain
Spain
N. Williams
Substitution out
N. Williams
Spain
Spain
68'
SPAIN IN TOTAL CONTROL
La Roja continue to dominate the ball and account for 78% possession 68 minutes in.
63'
BULGARIA CHANGE
Bozhinov replaces Nurnberger.
R. Bozhinov
Substitution in
R. Bozhinov
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
F. NĂĽrnberger
Substitution out
F. NĂĽrnberger
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
62'
SPAIN CHANGE
Dani Carvajal comes on for Pedro Porro after recovering from his knee injury.
D. Carvajal
Substitution in
D. Carvajal
Spain
Spain
P. Porro
Substitution out
P. Porro
Spain
Spain
62'
EXPERIENCE OFF THE BENCH
Rodri replaces Zubimendi in his first Spain game since his ACL injury.
Rodri
Substitution in
Rodri
Spain
Spain
M. Zubimendi
Substitution out
M. Zubimendi
Spain
Spain
56'
22 CAPS FOR YAMAL
Lamine Yamal is playing his 22nd match for Spain today already at just 18-years-old. Crazy stuff!
53'
MERINO HITS THE WOODWORK
Exhilarating stuff from La Roja as Mikel Merino rattles one off the bar.
Spain won't give Bulgaria a chance to breathe.
50'
SPAIN PUSH AGAIN
La Roja keep pressuring high as we enter the second half.