Spain vs Turkey – Fighting it out for the top spot!

On Tuesday 18th November 2025 Spain will play Turkey in this Group E World Cup qualifying match. Currently, Spain are at the top of Group E with Turkey just behind in second place. This match could decide which of these two teams earns automatic qualification and which has to go through the play off process to keep a chance at qualification. Read on for our Spain vs Turkey prediction.

Day: Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Time: 19:45
Stadium: Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Tournament: World Cup – European Qualifiers – Matchday 10

The last time these two teams met back in September, Spain thrashed Turkey by six goals to nil. Spain are also undefeated in this qualification round thus far, making them the strong favourites for this match. However, Turkey are currently in second place in the Group E table, so they have everything to play for if they want to avoid the play-offs and achieve automatic qualification. As a result, Turkey will no doubt be aiming to cause an upset here.

Spain – Aiming to continue their unbeaten run

Spain have had a fantastic run in the qualifiers thus far, remaining unbeaten and currently sitting at the top of the Group E table as a result. Their wins to date have been convincing, too, as they beat Bulgaria 3-0 & 4-0, Turkey 6-0 and Georgia 2-0, demonstrating that their defence is just as strong as their attack. No doubt Spain will be keen to continue this form in their next match against Turkey.

Turkey – Hoping to cause an upset

While Turkey haven’t enjoyed quite the same level of success as Spain so far in this World Cup qualifying round, they are currently sitting in second place in the Group E table, and would no doubt like to avoid having to go through the play offs to earn qualification. However, while we think Turkey will put up a good fight, they lost their last match against Spain 6-0. They have done better recently however in beating Bulgaria 6-1 and Georgia 4-1, which is why our Spain vs Turkey prediction is for plenty of goals.

Spain vs Turkey – Possible lineups

In terms of line ups, Spain were hit by a number of injuries in recent matches, but most should return for these final qualifiers. Ferran Torres withdrew from the team ahead of their game against Bulgaria, while Dean Huijsen, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Rodri are also currently suffering from injuries and may not make the squad. Despite this, it is likely that head coach Luis de la Fuente will keep the 4-3-3 formation which has worked so successfully for Spain up to now.

For Turkey, the recent drama with goalkeeper Berke Özer leaving the training camp of his own accord following his omission from the team in their match against Bulgaria should be sorted out by the time of this one. Attacking midfielder Irfan Can Kahveci should return from injury but may not get into a team which hit 10 goals in 2 games without him. That said winger Barış Alper Yılma is out after his red card against Georgia. They will likely employ a 4-2-3-1 formation, with head coach Vincenzo Monetella hoping to create some stability amongst the squad.

Spain possible XI:

GK: David Raya

DEF: Pedro Porro, Vivian, Laporte, Girmaldo

MID: Barios, Zubimendi, Aleix

ATT: J. Rodriguez Oyarzabal, Baena

Turkey possible XI:

GK: Ugurcan Cakir

DEF: Mert Muldur, Merih Demiral, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Eren Elmali

MID: Hakan Calhanoglu, Ismail Yuksek

ATT: Yunus Akgun, Arda Guler, Kenan Yidiz

ST: Kerem Akturkoglu

Where to watch Spain vs Turkey

ESPN’s website has text commentary available for all World Cup qualifying matches. The Spain vs Turkey game is available to watch live on television or online in several locations including:

RTVE PLAY
UEFA.tv
Prime Video UK

 Prediction Spain vs Turkey

While both of these teams have proven that they are more than capable of scoring a hatful of goals in this competition, Spain have kept a clean sheet thus far, so I am reluctant to suggest a ‘both teams to score’ prediction. While Spain have been in great form so far in the qualification process, are the better side and most likely to win, I think it is unlikely that punters will see a decent return from a ‘Spain to win’ bet as the bookies will keep the odds low.

All things considered, I think a good punt would be on over 2.5 goals, as this allows for the possibility that Turkey puts up a good fight in their battle for qualification and gets a goal or two past Spain’s keeper. An over 2.5 goals bet also covers the unlikely event that Turkey causes an upset here and takes a win.

The odds on over 2.5 goals will be around 1.30 to 1.50 and this is a good value bet