Mikel Oyarzabal stars as Spain remains perfect in World Cup qualifying, Belgium held

BARCELONA, kingdom of espana — Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice as Spain maintained its hone take shape in domain Cup qualifying with a 4-0 win in Georgia on Saturday as it 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 is poised to wrap up a spot in the finals when it meets Turkey on Tuesday in its last qualifier.

Spain leads Group E by three points over Turkey, 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 Turkey is on 5.

Even so, De la Fuente said it was too early to celebrate.

“We have maximum respect for all our rivals, including Turkey,” De la Fuente said. “We have to keep our feet on the ground and maintain this attitude until we are mathematically qualified.”

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 was 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.

Turkey kept alive its chances after Hakan Çalhanoğlu scored a penalty and Bulgaria defender Atanas Chernev added an own goal.

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.

Belgium was held to a 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan and missed a chance to qualify for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Belgium leads Group J with two points more than North Macedonia. Rudi Garcia’s side can still advance with a win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday in their final qualifier.

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, was 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.

Also in Group J, Jordan James scored as Wales won 1-0 at Liechtenstein.

Wales and North Macedonia are tied on 13 points in joint second place before they face-off on Tuesday.

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