Spain confirm Final Four and World Cup qualifying opponents

Spain squeezed past the Netherlands in dramatic fashion on Sunday night in the Nations League quarter-finals, beating the Dutch on penalties at Mestalla. The clash ended 5-5 on aggregate, but La Roja became the first side to qualify for the final four of the competition in each of the three editions of the competition, courtesy of goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal and some big saves from Unai Simon.

Luis de la Fuente is yet to see his side beaten since just his second game in charge of Spain against Scotland two years ago. It sets up a date with France in the semi-finals of the Nations League, as they look to retain the title they won in 2023. That game will take place in Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on the 5th of June. Three days later, the winner of that clash will play one of Germany or Portugal, after they came through against Italy (5-4 on agg.) and Denmark (5-3 on agg. AET) respectively. That will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The results of the Nations League games have also confirmed Spain’s group in the World Cup qualifying group. La Roja will take on Turkiye, Bulgaria and Georgia in their group, knowing only top spot guarantees qualification for 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Second spot would see them through to a play-off. The Netherlands will instead face Finland, Lithuania, Malta and Poland.

As explained by Cadena Cope, Spain begin their journey to North America away at Bulgaria and Turkiye in September, before hosting Georgia and Bulgaria. Their final games take place in November, when they travel to Tbilisi, and then host Turkiye. Even if Spain did not qualify, as the winner of their Nations League group, they have a play-off spot assured, as is the case for Portugal, Germany and France. All of the final four participants are in groups of four rather than five, due to their participation in the final stage of the Nations League in June.