The B Team Takes a Step Closer to the World Cup

Spain's most recognizable team, as much as the injury plague allows, performed against Georgia in Elche. Now, the B team, envied by many other national teams due to La Roja's strong depth, takes the lead against weak Bulgaria in Valladolid.

The opponent's stature is far from that of the early 1990s team led by Ballon d'Or winner Hristo Stoichkov, capable of reaching the semifinals of the 1994 World Cup in the United States after defeating the powerful Germany, then reigning champions of the tournament of tournaments.

Now, on the way to another global event in the land of stars and stripes, the Bulgarian team languishes among the weakest in the pack on the Old Continent. Zero points in three matches, one goal scored, and eleven conceded clearly speak of an opponent that concedes goals in every match and hasn't reached a final stage for over two decades, specifically since the Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Given the circumstances, the match seems ideal for rotation, avoiding club suspicions, winning, and maintaining Spain's perfect score, which, pending a possible slip-up by Turkey against Georgia, would bring the World Cup ticket even closer, with two matches remaining in the November window, in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, and at La Cartuja in Seville to close the phase by hosting the Ottoman team.

The deserving players are stepping up. Some were more or less protagonists from the bench in Elche, like Marcos Llorente, Pablo Barrios, Aleix García, or Álex Baena. Others await their opportunity, such as David Raya, performing at a high level in the demanding Arsenal; the returning Laporte, already fit after his challenging return to Athletic; Grimaldo, a luxury winger who has already scored four goals this season with Bayer Leverkusen; Jesús Rodríguez, who has quickly adapted to Italian football at Como with Cesc; or Samu Omorodion, who has scored five goals in seven matches with Porto in the Portuguese league.

There is plenty of talent to trust in this second unit, even a third if considering the absences and rotations compared to the match against Georgia, two aspects that De la Fuente tries to manage amid the clubs' growing skepticism towards international breaks, increasingly debated as the calendar continues to add commitments on other fronts.

All records favor La Roja in a match where they must fight against complacency and a clear sense of superiority. This vast difference between the contenders is evidenced by the five victories and one draw Spain has achieved in their six previous encounters against Bulgaria, including a distant 13-0 in 1933, which remains the biggest win in the national team's centenary history.

Moreover, the talisman of José Zorrilla also accompanies them, where the Spanish team has won all four matches to date, a World Cup qualifier for France in 1997 against the Czech Republic (1-0), the Euro 2023 qualifier against Georgia (3-1), and two friendlies against the United States (2-0) in 1992 and against Ivory Coast (3-2) in 2006.

Valladolid, adorned on a festive Monday, welcomes La Roja with excitement, who have traveled to the city of Pisuerga by train with the aim of matching their record of 29 official matches unbeaten during the golden era, set between 2010 and 2013, with a World Cup and a European Championship in between.

Spain: Raya, Llorente, Vivian, Laporte, Grimaldo, Barrios, Zubimendi, Baena, Yéremy Pino, Samu, and Jesús Rodríguez.

Bulgaria: Mitov, Turitsov, Bozhinov, Hristov, Petrov, Stoyanov, Chochev, Kraev, Petkov, Despodov, and Dimitrov.

Referee: Willy Delajod (France).

Time: 20:45 h. José Zorrilla Stadium.

Television: La 1.