When Dani Olmo scored four minutes into the gameSpain did not expect a match with so much uncertainty. The Barcelona player’s goal seemed to put everything in its place early on. La Roja had won all the World Cup qualifying matches and had not conceded a goal.
Everything was perfect. Spain dominated, possession was scandalously favorable for them and they came close to the goal frequently, mainly with Marcos Llorente’s attacks on the right, although he lacked forcefulness in his finishing. It seemed that La Roja had softened, as if everything had already been achieved and it was enough to move the ball from one side to the other.
But not. The Turks, who already took for granted the obligation to play in the playoffs – they had to win by seven goals to beat Spain – did not, however, consider the match lost. And in the first corner they had, Deniz Gul took advantage of a loose ball in the area to level the match.
The Porto striker had already shown that it was not a friendly match for his team with an elbow to Laporte in a jump that caused the Spanish centre-back to bleed from the nose.
Bayindir, the Turkish goalkeeper, had until then avoided Spain’s defeat. And the casualties did not encourage us to think about a comeback either. Turkey Guler and Yildiz were missinghis two young stars, whom Montella kept on the bench so that they would not see a card that would prevent them from playing in the play-offs. AND Çalhanoglu was not there eitherthe captain and leader of this team. A set piece artist.
Spain lacked the control of the game that Zubimendi exerts, but Aleix García had already been seen in the first goal of the game, with the opening to the wing towards Cucurella that preceded Dani Olmo’s goal.
But suddenly, In the second half, all of Spain’s records were shaken by Ozcan’s shot from the edge of the area that put the Turks ahead. The unbeaten record of the Spanish goal had already been broken by Gul in the first half, but a Turkish victory, in addition to meaning the first Spanish defeat in the qualifying phase, would have broken a couple more historic streaks.
Spain has never lost on its field in a qualifying phase for the World Cup and Fabián, who was playing his 41st game, has never lost with the selection. Furthermore, with the tie it equals the world record for official matches without losing that Mancini’s Italy had left at 31.
Everything was in doubt until Oyarzabal put things back on track by scoring a ball that had been loose in the small area after a couple of rebounds. It had to be OyarzabalSpain’s top scorer since Luis de la Fuente led it and one of his trusted men. There is a reason he is always the field player designated to address the referee when Unai Simón wears the captain’s armband. With that goal, he also equaled the six that Mikel Merino has achieved on his way to the World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
With the tie came calm, but Spain did not stop seeking victory. The best opportunities came in added time. First with a shot by Baena from outside the area that Bayindir cleared like many others before. In the end there was a goal disallowed for Fermín which would have allowed Spain to close the classification with six victories in six games.
The tie seems like a small thing, but Spain did not need more to be in the draw for the final phase next Friday, December 5. Although the path seemed to be much easier with Olmo’s goal after four minutes.