Spain settled for a 1-1 draw with Iraq on Thursday (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
Spain may be among the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup, but La Roja delivered an underwhelming performance on Thursday, settling for a 1-1 draw against Iraq in a pre-tournament friendly.
While the result itself wasn’t ideal, it’s important to note that manager Luis de la Fuente fielded a heavily rotated side and rested numerous key players ahead of the competition. Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Nico Williams, Pedri, Marc Cucurella, David Raya, Martin Zubimendi, and Mikel Oyarzabal were all absent from the matchday squad as Spain focused on preserving fitness before traveling to North America.
Spain still made a bright start at Estadio Riazor in Coruña. Ferran Torres opened the scoring in the 16th minute after a slick attacking move involving Dani Olmo and Borja Iglesias. The Barcelona forward nearly added another before halftime, only to see his effort smash the crossbar.
Iraq responded midway through the first half when Merchas Doski found the back of the net from a difficult angle, catching goalkeeper Joan Garcia off guard to level the score. Despite controlling possession throughout much of the contest, Spain couldn’t find a winner.
The friendly served more as an evaluation exercise than a must-win fixture. De la Fuente handed senior debuts to several young players, including Marc Bernal, Jon Martin, Javi Guerra, Marc Pubill, and Leo Roman. Many of those players are not on Spain’s final World Cup roster but were rewarded for their performances at training camp.
Following the draw, De la Fuente stressed that the primary objective was achieved.
“Today was about sensations and giving opportunities to other players. No injuries — that’s important,” the Spain boss said, via Reuters.
“Now we enter a new phase with more intensity and more players contributing.”
The absence of Yamal was particularly notable. The teenage superstar continues to recover from a hamstring injury that ended his club season with Barca early, but De la Fuente recently expressed confidence that the winger should be fit for Spain’s World Cup opener against Cape Verde on June 15.
Spain will face Peru in one final warm-up match before beginning its World Cup campaign, with the expectation that many of its regulars will suit up in preparation for the global event.