Spain made it five wins from wins in World Cup qualifying with a routine 4-0 victory over Georgia on Saturday, and while it was not enough to book their place at next summer’s tournament, they did

Spain, ranked as the top team in the world by FIFA, will enter next summer's 48-team tournament as one of the heavy favorites. The team won the 2024 UEFA European Championship (its fourth in history) and will now be looking to add its second ever World Cup title.

Spain need just a point against Turkiye on Tuesday to book their place at next year's World Cup, but Dean Huijsen will not feature.

After sweeping to victory at Euro 2008, Spain, by now under the guidance of two-time Champions League winner and Real Madrid legend Vicente del Bosque, actually opened the 2010 World Cup with a shock defeat to Switzerland—until Argentina followed suit in 2022, they were the only team to lose their first match and still go on to win a World Cup.

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente could keep changes to a minimum for Tuesday's final World Cup 2026 qualifier against Turkey . La Roja have all but guaranteed to feature at next year's tournament after they maintained their three-point lead at the top of Group E with a 4-0 win over Georgia on Saturday.

Luis Rubiales, former head of Spain's soccer federation, was pelted by eggs while presenting his memoir. His own uncle threw them.

Suriname has defeated El Salvador 4-0 in CONCACAF qualifying, moving closer to its first World Cup. On Thursday, Tjaronn Cherry scored a penalty in the 44th minute.