Spain thump Turkiye 6-0 in World Cup 2026 qualifier as Merino scores three

A hat-trick from Mikel Merino, a brace from Pedri and a Ferran Torres onslaught condemned Turkiye to a shellacking astatine home.

Mikel Merino’s hat-trick helped Spain to thrash hosts Turkey 6-0 successful a World Cup qualifier arsenic the European champions remained firmly successful power of Group E.

The hosts had nary reply to Spain’s dominance connected Sunday, undone clip and again by the visitors’ velocity and finesse, with a helpless Turkish defence torn isolated connected each counterattack.

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Spain pb the group with six points from 2 matches, portion Turkey and Georgia beryllium connected 3 points from the same. Georgia bushed Bulgaria 3-0 earlier connected Sunday.

The visitors struck aboriginal arsenic Pedri recovered the nett successful the sixth minute, slotting past goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.

Merino doubled Spain’s tally successful the 22nd minute, finishing disconnected a slick passing determination wrong the container with a elemental unmarked onslaught past the Turkish defence.

In first-half stoppage time, Merino struck again, this clip latching onto a pull-back and firing location to springiness Spain a three-goal cushion astatine the interval.

The onslaught resumed 8 minutes into the 2nd fractional erstwhile a Turkish country backfired, Ferran Torres starring a accelerated counterattack and finishing disconnected a crisp speech wrong the container to marque it four.

Brimming with confidence, Merino completed his hat-trick conscionable 4 minutes later, capping different breakaway with a stunning left-footed curler from region that flew into the apical country for Spain’s fifth.

Pedri added different 1 for Spain successful the 62nd minute, arriving unmarked astatine the extremity of different swift interruption to slot location his 2nd for the night.

Elsewhere successful UEFA qualifying, four-time satellite champions Germany struggled for much than an hr against Northern Ireland earlier scoring doubly successful 3 minutes successful the 2nd fractional to gain a 3-1 triumph successful their 2026 World Cup qualifier connected Sunday.

With the people level astatine 1-1, a tap-in by substitute Nadiem Amiri successful the 69th infinitesimal and a escaped footwear from Florian Wirtz made definite of Germany’s archetypal triumph successful Group A.

It was besides the archetypal triumph for Julian Nagelmann’s squad successful their past 5 matches and followed their shock 2-0 loss to hosts Slovakia connected Thursday – their archetypal ever distant decision successful a World Cup qualifier – successful their opening radical match.

In Sunday’s different Group A game, Slovakia eked retired a 1-0 triumph distant astatine Luxembourg.

In Brussels meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne underlined his talismanic relation for Belgium with a stunning extremity to interruption the deadlock and acceptable his broadside connected their mode to a comfy 6-0 triumph implicit Kazakhstan successful their World Cup qualifier connected Sunday.

It was threatening to go a frustrating nighttime astatine the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium for the Belgians earlier the 42nd-minute strike, but aft that they were capable to spell connected and registry a comfy triumph with some De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku scoring twice.

Belgium person 10 points from 4 games successful Group J, up of Wales connected extremity quality but trailing leaders North Macedonia, who bushed Liechtenstein 5-0 earlier connected Sunday, by a point. North Macedonia and Wales person played 5 matches each, however.

Elsewhere, Memphis Depay acceptable a caller scoring grounds for the Netherlands arsenic his treble ensured they survived a scare successful beating Lithuania 3-2 distant successful their World Cup qualifier connected Sunday.

Two goals for the 31-year-old Depay took his nationalist squad tally to 52, moving up of Robin van Persie’s erstwhile record, and putting the Netherlands apical of the Group G standings with 10 points from 4 games – up of Poland connected extremity quality aft the Poles won 3-1 astatine location to Finland connected Sunday.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies