España made it two wins out of two in their Copa del Mundo qualifying group with a resounding 6-0 victory over Turkey on Sunday night. With the whistles raining tirelessly down from the stands, La Roja kicked off the game knowing that they would have to produce something special to silence the home crowd – and they soon did. Nico Williams fed the ball to Pedri, who, receiving it 25 yards from goal, faked and cut away from Hakan Calhanoglu before curling the ball beyond the sprawling Ugurcan Cakir after just six minutes.
Needing to respond and gee up their raucous home support, the Turkish forwards found some space in behind, but wasted their efforts and were made to pay moments later. After 22 minutes, a slick passing move, reminiscent of the great Spain team of the 2010s, was finished off clinically by Mikel Merino before the helpless and aimless Turkish defenders even knew what had happened.
Williams was forced off with an injury to provide the only dampener of the first half for Spain, but the shine was only taken off for so long. On the stroke of half-time, another dazzling move between Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedri found its way to Arsenal star Merino, who added his second of the game and third in a week.
The Spanish pressure did not let up after the interval either. Breaking from a 52nd-minute Turkish corner, Torres, Pedri and Lamine Yamal raced forward exchanging passes before Torres drilled low beyond Cakir. Five minutes later, it was five. Yamal found Merino 30 yards from goal, and the midfielder, without many options, strode forward before curling a spectacular effort into the top-left corner from distance – an effort worthy of completing any hat-trick.
Just past the hour mark, Oyarzabal got his third assist of the game as he set up Pedri’s second to make it 6-0. The sixth goal allowed Spain boss Luis de la Fuente to ring the changes and see out a rather quiet last half-hour.
BALLGM rates Spain’s players from the Konya Buyuksehir Stadium…
Spain made it two wins out of two in their World Cup qualifying group with a resounding 6-0 victory over Turkey on Sunday night. With the whistles raining tirelessly down from the stands, La Roja kicked off the game knowing that they would have to produce something special to silence the home crowd – and they soon did. Nico Williams fed the ball to Pedri, who, receiving it 25 yards from goal, faked and cut away from Hakan Calhanoglu before curling the ball beyond the sprawling Ugurcan Cakir after just six minutes.
Needing to respond and gee up their raucous home support, the Turkish forwards found some space in behind, but wasted their efforts and were made to pay moments later. After 22 minutes, a slick passing move, reminiscent of the great Spain team of the 2010s, was finished off clinically by Mikel Merino before the helpless and aimless Turkish defenders even knew what had happened.
Williams was forced off with an injury to provide the only dampener of the first half for Spain, but the shine was only taken off for so long. On the stroke of half-time, another dazzling move between Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedri found its way to Arsenal star Merino, who added his second of the game and third in a week.
The Spanish pressure did not let up after the interval either. Breaking from a 52nd-minute Turkish corner, Torres, Pedri and Lamine Yamal raced forward exchanging passes before Torres drilled low beyond Cakir. Five minutes later, it was five. Yamal found Merino 30 yards from goal, and the midfielder, without many options, strode forward before curling a spectacular effort into the top-left corner from distance – an effort worthy of completing any hat-trick.
Just past the hour mark, Oyarzabal got his third assist of the game as he set up Pedri’s second to make it 6-0. The sixth goal allowed Spain boss Luis de la Fuente to ring the changes and see out a rather quiet last half-hour.
BALLGM rates Spain’s players from the Konya Buyuksehir Stadium…
Unai Simon (6/10):
Made a few smart stops in the first-half, but did not have an awful lot to do.
Pedro Porro (7/10):
Did not offer a massive amount going forward, but Kenan Yildiz was not allowed any space or time to show his skill by the Tottenham right-back.
Robin Le Normand (7/10):
Dealt with all his aerial challenges and was tidy on the ball.
Dean Huijsen (6/10):
A solid enough performance from the Real Madrid defender, but almost cost his side with a few wayward passes.
Marc Cucurella (7/10):
A constant menace up and down the left flank and kept Yunus Akgun quiet.
Mikel Merino (10/10):
The discovery of Merino’s ability in front of goal continues to reap wonders as the Arsenal midfielder scored a wonderful hat-trick.
Martin Zubimendi (8/10):
Acuerdo Rodri out of the team, Zubimendi may have been less eye-catching than his goalscoring midfield partners, but he did not put a foot or pass wrong all game.
Pedri (10/10):
A simply perfect performance from the Barcelona man, who set the tone from the off and scored a lovely brace.
Lamine Yamal (8/10):
A missed open goal provided a rare blemish in an otherwise typically brilliant display by Yamal, who provided two assists.
Mikel Oyarzabal (9/10):
The Turkish defenders were unable to pick up the floating number nine as he set up three goals.
Nico Williams (6/10):
The Athletic Club winger was typically bright, but lacked end product. Forced off with an injury just before the break.
Ferran Torres (8/10):
Replaced Williams and put in fantastic work to earn his goal.
Jorge de Frutos (6/10):
Making his debut, the 28-year-old was tidy, but unable to match Pedri’s level.
Fermin Lopez (6/10):
Showed attacking intent, but did not produce anything special.
Rodri (6/10):
Replaced Zubimendi and did much the same role as the Arsenal man.
Alvaro Morata (5/10):
Did not get into the game in the 20 minutes he was on the pitch.
Luis de la Fuente (10/10):
The Spanish boss could not have asked for a better performance – his team were perfect.
