Spain crushes Turkey on a night to remember and secures almost all of their World Cup tickets.

Spain will be in the World Cup, that's been clear since last night. And Spain is one of the favorites to win the World Cup. Wait a minute. This was already known. The news? That Spain is the favorite to win the World Cup. With the article. With the "la." Spain is the favorite to win the World Cup. The exhibition against Turkey attests to the immense power of a team that is also young. And that is also hungry. And that also plays with everything, because they score goals after 25 passes, 66 touches, and 75 seconds of uninterrupted possession, from the goalkeeper to Mikel Merino (we're talking about the 0-2), or they score another three on the run, at the sound of a counterattack, a frightening bang, bang, bang . Spain put on a memorable performance last night in Konya. And they are the favorite. With the article. With the "la." [Narration and statistics, 0-6]

De la Fuente repeated his starting eleven. Not Carvajal , who seemed to, or anything. The same as in Bulgaria, because, let's not forget, what happened to him in his debut window is etched in his memory. As is well known, it's worth remembering that since that March of 2023, he's made few changes from one game to the next, but it was also striking that he didn't make any, because the coach has navigated between changing everyone and changing no one in his blessed, if not happy, career. It was the second time in 32 matches that he repeated the exact starting eleven from one game to the next, but he thought he knew what he was up against and didn't want any jokes. There were none.

Minute 46. Spain has just scored the third goal, closing out a magnificent three-quarters of an hour of football. Turkey, dejected, takes a snap and gives the ball to its goalkeeper. And Mikel Oyarzabal , as if it were the first minute or as if his team were losing by one with 30 seconds left, runs like a demon towards Çakir. That image of the Spanish forward, with the score at 0-3 and on the verge of halftime, pressing like there was no tomorrow, could be the perfect summary of a team, the Spanish team, magnificent last night in Konya. But no. That image could be, if anything, the summary of this group's hunger. But this Spain isn't hunger. It's not just hunger. It's hunger and much more. A lot more.

It's hard to explain how a team goes off to rest 3-0 and has the right to grimace. Such was Spain's display in the first half that the difference on the scoreboard was small. Almost negligible considering what had been seen on the pitch. Aside from the goals, we can count (and only the very clear ones will appear here): two near-one-on-one chances by Nico Williams (who was injured), and three other clear chances for Lamine Yamal, one of them particularly painful because he tried to tap the ball into an empty net. He bounced poorly and it went high. Speaking of Lamine , it's surprising to see how the opposing fans shout, whistle, and insult him more than the others. The reason? He's so good it's frightening.

But it would be unfair if the spotlight were only on him yesterday. Spain was Spain with a capital S, an orchestra unmatchable for a Turkey with a handful of good players but lacking the substance, quality, or ideas of their opponent last night. It's been a while since football has been a place of hell, neither Turkish nor non-Turkish, but there were decibels, plenty of them, in the elegant Konya stadium. It was Montella 's team's opportunity to truly challenge the European champions for first place in the group. But it was no use. Spain was indecipherable for the Turks, who were unable to even guess what would happen in the next play, the next pass, the next turn, the next feint, the next trick...

Pedri , superb, was the boss of everything, but behind him, Zubimendi explained what it will cost Rodri to recover the position, which will be no small feat, Huijsen showed everything he is, and it is a lot, Merino accompanied and scored, demonstrating that he is at the level of Fabián ... It would be, almost, to go one by one, because the choreography of the selection was beautiful to say the least.

Nothing changed after the break. The Turks came out with the white flag in hand, and so did their fans. They were ready, there was no other way, to watch live, from the front row, the exhibition of one of the best teams in living memory, and who had fun scoring three more goals. It's probably premature to talk about an era, but what has been done, and what has been seen, so far, combined with the age of these people, invites us to think about that. In an era, or an era, or whatever you want to call it. Turkey, although it became very small, starting with Güler, is a good team. Not one of the best, but a good team. And you have to go into their own half and score six. That's not within everyone's reach, and even less so on the way to a World Cup. A World Cup where Spain is the favorite. It's the favorite. Simply put. With the article. With the article "the."