Historic clash to begin the road to the World Cup
The first step on the road to the FIFA World Cup 2026 begins in Sofia. From 20:45 CET, Spain will look to get the qualifying campaign underway in the best possible fashion. Luis de la Fuente’s side will meet Ilian Iliev’s Bulgaria at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in a fixture never before seen on Bulgarian soil.
Bulgaria will become the 49th UEFA member association, and the 67th worldwide, to host Spain in an official international. The last time the men’s senior national team marked a new country on its historic fixture map was on 8 September 2021, when Spain earned a 2–0 victory over Kosovo in Pristina.
Head-to-head, Spain and Bulgaria have met five times at senior level, with four victories and one draw in favour of Spain. Their first encounter dates back to 21 May 1933, when José María Mateos’ Spain recorded a resounding 13–0 win over Bulgaria. That result, 92 years later, remains Spain’s biggest ever victory.
The last meeting came on 20 November 2002 at the “old” Estadio Los Cármenes in Granada, where Iñaki Sáez’s team defeated a Bulgaria side featuring Petrov, Berbatov, and Manchev by 1–0 thanks to a goal from José Mari. Spain and Bulgaria also faced each other in the final stages of UEFA EURO 1996 in England and the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
The Vasil Levski National Stadium, with a capacity of 43,230, will host a match described as “very important” by both Luis de la Fuente and Álvaro Morata in their press conference. Two key players for Spain, Rodrigo Hernández and Dani Carvajal, could return to action after missing the past year due to serious knee injuries. In addition, Jesús Rodríguez and Jorge de Frutos may make their senior debuts during this September international window.
Luis de la Fuente: “We want to win everything”
The match in Sofia will be officiated by Serbian referee Srdjan Jovanović, with compatriots Uroš Stojković and Milan Mihajlović as assistant referees. Novak Simović will serve as fourth official, while Momčilo Marković and Jelena Cvetković will oversee VAR.
Spain has appeared in 16 FIFA World Cups, including the last 12 consecutively since Argentina 1978. After recent European dominance, with Nations League success in 2023 and the UEFA EURO triumph in 2024, Luis de la Fuente’s side now has its sights firmly set on next summer’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Qualification begins in Sofia against Bulgaria, and the players are fully aware of the importance of starting strongly on the road to such an eagerly awaited tournament.
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