Match Preview | The World Cup dream draws ever closer

Mathematical qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is becoming increasingly within reach, and today, against Georgia, the Spanish national team have their first opportunity to secure it. In order to do so, Luis de la Fuente’s side must earn more points today than Turkey, who play at the same time against Bulgaria. Should the results align, Spain would confirm their presence at the World Cup for the 13th consecutive time (every edition since Argentina 1978).

Georgia vs Spain, 18:00 CET on La 1 (Spanish peninsular time)

Spain currently lead their qualifying group with authority, having won all four matches without conceding a single goal. La Roja have collected 12 points and scored 15 goals so far in a flawless qualifying campaign. Türkiye sit second with nine points, Georgia third with three, and Bulgaria remain bottom of Group E without a point.

Spain, ranked number one in the FIFA World Rankings, will meet the Caucasian side for the tenth time at senior level, with a record of eight Spanish victories and one Georgian win. The teams’ first meeting took place on 11 September 2012 during qualifying for the Brazil World Cup, where Spain claimed a 1–0 victory thanks to a goal from Roberto Soldado.

More recently, and with Luis de la Fuente at the helm, Georgia and Spain have faced each other four times, all ending in Spanish victories: twice in European Championship qualifying (1–7 in Tbilisi and 3–1 in Valladolid), once in the round of 16 of EURO 2024 (a 4–1 win with goals from Rodrigo, Fabián, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo), and in this World Cup qualifying campaign in October 2025, when Spain won 2–0 at the Martínez Valero in Elche thanks to goals from Yeremy Pino and Oyarzabal.

This will be Spain’s fourth Senior National Team appearance at the Boris Paichadze National Stadium in Tbilisi, which holds over 54,200 spectators, where Spain have won on every visit. However, Georgia are a team on the rise, with internationally recognised players such as Giorgi Mamardashvili, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georges Mikautadze (absent today due to injury), and Giorgi Kochorashvili (suspended), among others.

In this regard, Luis de la Fuente and Martín Zubimendi highlighted Georgia’s potential in yesterday’s press conference. The head coach stated, “We expect a tough match because Georgia have top-level players competing in Europe’s strongest leagues, including Spain. We will need to perform at our very best to win tomorrow,” while the midfielder noted that “they are a great team who have always made things very difficult for us.”

French referee Benoît Bastien will take charge of this key fixture for Spain. He will be assisted on the sidelines by compatriots Hicham Zakrani and Aurélien Berthomieu, while Romain Lissorgue, also French, will serve as fourth official. In the VAR booth will be France’s Mathieu Vernice and Belgium’s Nathan Verboomen.