Bulgaria 0-3 Spain: Yamal shines in routine World Cup qualifying victory

Reigning European Champions Spain beat Bulgaria 3-0 as they enjoyed a razor-sharp start to their 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 their 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 the fantastic 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 were met by a tighter Bulgarian rearguard as the hosts successfully kept hold of some pride in their Group E opener.

Data Debrief: Yamal shines again as Spain march on

Following 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, who finished with 24 shots, with a whopping 12 of those on target, and 3.33 expected goals, while Bulgaria had only three attempts for a meagre 0.1 xG.

It is now 21 games unbeaten and counting for Spain. It is their longest unbeaten run since a streak of 26 between 2011 and 2013.