With everything almost, almost done, one step away from equaling Italy’s record of 31 games in a row without losing and with Argentina already on the horizon for the Finalissima in March, Spain allowed itself to taste a taste of mortality. They conceded the first two goals of this qualifying phase and briefly found themselves behind on the scoreboard. Barely eight minutes before rebelling again and catching a tie in a sea of chances, against a Turkey with much more bones than Bulgaria and Georgia, with much more than what it appeared in the first leg.
2
Unai Simón, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Cucurella, Marcos Llorente, Fabián Ruiz (Pablo Fornals, min. 82), Aleix García, Mikel Merino (Ferran Torres, min. 45), Dani Olmo (Fermín López, min. 73), Yéremy Pino (Álex Baena, min. 61) y Mikel Oyarzabal (Samu Aghehowa, min. 61)
2
Altay Bayindir, Samet Akaydin, Çağlar Söyüncü, Ferdi Kadioglu (Mustafa Eskihellaç, min. 77), Merih Demiral (Yusuf Akçiçek, min. 82), Zeki Çelik, Salih Özcan (Atakan Karazor, min. 77), Baris Yilmaz, Orkun Kökçü, Irfan Kahveci (Yusuf Sari, min. 68) y Deniz Gül (Mert Muldur, min. 68)
Goals
1-0 min. 3: Dani Olmo. 1-1 min. 41: Deniz Gül. 1-2 min. 53: Salih Ozcan. 2-2 min. 61: Oyarzabal
Referee Felix Zwayer
yellow cards
Deniz Gül (min. 11), Álex Baena (min. 67), Salih Ozcan (min. 75), Demiral (min. 79), Mustafa Eskihellaç (min. 88), Altay Bayindir (min. 93)
But the game was very marked by the margin that the Turks had to get something of value. From the blackboard, everything seemed to indicate that they feared each other. Montella introduced eight changes compared to the last match, perhaps with his mind more focused on the March play-offs than on imagining leaving with a 0-7 scoreline at La Cartuja. He reserved Yildiz, Akturkoglu and Aydin, one yellow away from suspension, and also Arda Güler. He joined his team behind with five defenders, hoping to avoid another rout like the 0-6 that La Roja gave them in Türkiye.
And Spain launched into that, announcing very soon that it was preparing to tear down the framework. Aleix García, in Zubimendi’s place, crossed to the left as Cucurella advanced, who put the ball into the area. Fabián shot into the air, but Olmo came behind to score. Three minutes had passed.
Spain moved with the stolen ball, as always, with increasing intensity and speed as it approached the Turkish goal. In the middle Aleix and Fabián played with aplomb, with Merino a little higher up. There the pulse was altered. They went from playing with two touches to flying with one touch among the rival tangle: ghosts sneaking between statues. A flicker passed between exploratory calm and acceleration. And the floodgates opened on Bayindir’s goal.
Olmo was especially illuminated, an enigma for the Turks. He seemed to be stationed on the left wing, and played there from time to time. But then he would disappear and emerge again in the center, near Oyarzabal, mixing with Yeremy, the winger on the other side, always with his sights on the goal. He tested Bayindir’s reflexes with two good shots from outside the area, the last a volley of enormous difficulty.
Türkiye had come out to protect itself, but it does not have the harmless fragility of Bulgaria. He was finding ways to avoid the pressure, little by little he looked out to see if Unai Simón was still there. Although the stands, half full, did not seem restless. Those who had come this Tuesday weekday night to one of the most annoying stadiums for the public, a kind of trap from which it is difficult to return, began to entertain themselves with the wave. When they were heading into the fourth round, the ball was loose in the Unai area after a corner, Gül stretched his right leg, scored, and stopped the distraction of the spinning celebration.
After five and a half games, Türkiye had found a way to score the first goal of the qualifying phase against Spain, which relieved some of their fear and shyness. The Red net opened and they saw Unai more closely. Yilmaz, a nuisance all night, demanded a lot from him with a bicycle kick and Özcan beat him with a far right hand to a ball that had landed near the front. Spain found itself in a territory that it had not set foot in in recent months. They hadn’t just marked him. The team that was looking at the world record for competitive matches without defeat was losing.
It was brief. Eight minutes. Cucurella advanced again and found Yeremy in the area. Bayindir blocked the Canary’s shot, but Oyarzabal appeared to score and tie. As almost always. The assault continued with the entrances of Ferran, Fermín and Samu, with two good headers in the area. But without prize. No more than the ticket to the World Cup, the equalization of Italy’s historical record and the good feelings to travel to face the champion Argentina in March.
