BARCELONA, Spain: Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice as Spain maintained their perfect form in World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 win in Georgia on Saturday as they closed in on a berth at next year’s showpiece tournament.
Luis de la Fuente’s side has scored 19 times while conceding zero goals in five group victories.
The European champion are poised to wrap up a spot in the finals when they meet Turkiye on Tuesday in their last qualifier.
Spain lead Group E by three points over Turkiye, which beat Bulgaria 2-0 on Saturday.
The only way the Turks could pip Spain for the top spot and grab a direct ticket to the World Cup would be by winning in Seville by a huge margin.
A tiebreaker would be decided by goal difference. Spain is on +19, while Turkiye is on +5.
The home side didn’t miss injured stars Lamine Yamal, Pedri González or Rodri against the overmatched Georgia.
The Real Sociedad striker Oyarzabal led Spain with his two goals and an assist. Martín Zubimendi and Ferran Torres also scored as their team were up 3-0 by halftime.
Oyarzabal opened the scoring with a penalty in the 11th minute and headed in the fourth goal in the 63rd. Marcos Llorente cleared a late Georgia shot from the goal-line to protect Spain’s run of clean sheets.
Belgium must wait
Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan and missed a chance to qualify for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Rudi Garcia’s side can still advance with a win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday in their final qualifier.
Belgium lead Group J with two points more than North Macedonia.
The draw in Astana guaranteed the Belgians will finish in the top two. The 12 group winners from European qualification go directly to the World Cup. The continent’s remaining four berths are decided by a playoff of the dozen runners-up.
Kazakhstan took a ninth-minute lead through 17-year-old Dastan Satpayev. Hans Vanaken leveled for Belgium in the 48th when the Club Brugge midfielder headed in a cross by Timothy Castagne.
But Belgium, which had routed Kazahkstan 6-0 in September, were unable to take advantage of playing with an extra man from the 79th minute after Islam Chesnokov was red carded for a hard challenge on Jeremy Doku.
Mikel Oyarzabal stars as Spain remain perfect in World Cup qualifying, Belgium held
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Mikel Oyarzabal stars as Spain remain perfect in World Cup qualifying, Belgium held
- Luis de la Fuente’s side has scored 19 times while conceding zero goals in five group victories
- The European champion are poised to wrap up a spot in the finals when they meet Turkiye on Tuesday in their last qualifier
Bologna snatch 2-1 win over Parma to reach Italian Cup quarterfinals, will face Milan or Lazio
- Castro headed in a cross from Emil Holm in the 89th minute
- The home side leveled shortly before halftime
BOLOGNA, Italy: Substitute Santiago Castro’s last-gasp goal sent Bologna into the Italian Cup quarterfinals as the defending champion came from behind to beat Parma 2-1 on Thursday.
Bologna, which won for the competition for the first time in 52 years last season, will face either AC Milan or Lazio, who were playing each other later.
Castro headed in a cross from Emil Holm in the 89th minute.
Serie A struggler Parma had taken a surprise lead in the 13th minute when Adrian Benedyczak ran onto a through ball from Mathias Løvik and slotted past Federico Ravaglia.
But the home side leveled shortly before halftime. Jonathan Rowe’s initial attempt hit the post but the English winger controlled the rebound and fired it home for his first goal since joining Bologna in August.
There was another positive note for Bologna as Ciro Immobile came on as a late substitute for his first appearance since a thigh injury in August.
