Turkey vs Spain Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction

Turkey are unpredictable in the purest sense of the word. They pieced together three straight wins that had supporters daring to believe in a turning point, only to come crashing back down with defeats against Mexico in a friendly and Spain in qualifying. Vincenzo Montella’s side look lively in attack. Arda Güler brings flair, Kenan Yıldız adds direct running, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu supplies leadership and set-piece danger. Going forward, they are capable of troubling almost anyone. At the back, though, things are much less convincing. Merih Demiral and Çağlar Söyüncü have the experience but lapses in concentration keep undoing their work.

The Istanbul crowd will generate a storm of noise and belief, but the challenge for Turkey is staying organised and disciplined when Spain inevitably control the ball. Clean sheets have been impossible to come by in recent matches, and they have not managed to shut Spain out in years. This feels like a game where Turkey can thrill the fans going forward, but those same fans may be holding their heads at the other end.

Spain have not lost in five, which sounds great until you notice three of those were draws that made everyone reach for the remote. It is the classic La Roja formula: keep the ball forever, pass sideways until the other team forgets what day it is, then eventually Morata pops up with a goal and pretends that was the plan all along.

Their penalty loss to Portugal in the Nations League final still stings, but before that, they had won sixteen out of nineteen. So, no, they are not a crisis club, they are just the same old Spain: efficient, occasionally tedious, but always one step ahead in qualifiers.

The midfield is still the centrepiece. Rodri strolls around like he owns the place, dictating tempo without breaking a sweat. Pedri already plays like a veteran, slipping passes through gaps that barely exist. Morata, meanwhile, is the eternal riddle: useless in finals, lethal in qualifiers. Around him, the kids are alright. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams add pace, bravery, and the sort of chaos that makes defenders panic. Spain will not blow Turkey away with five goals, but they will smother them until the resistance cracks.