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Spain kicked off their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign with an emphatic 3-0 win in Bulgaria, Aljazeera reported.

The Euro 2024 champions eased to a comfortable victory on Thursday at the Vasil Levski Stadium in Sofia with first-half goals from Mikel Oyarzabal, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was able to bring on Rodri Hernandez and Dani Carvajal for their first international appearances in several months after both recovered from severe knee injuries, according to Aljazeera.

Captain Youri Tielemans scored twice as Belgium cruised to a 6-0 win over minnows Liechtenstein in their 2026 World Cup qualifying Group J at the Rheinpark Stadion on Sept 4, with winger Malick Fofana netting his first international goal, Reuters reported.

Maxim De Cuyper, Arthur Theate and Kevin De Bruyne were also on target for Belgium, who were never unduly troubled by their hosts and might have won by a far greater margin had they taken their chances.

The victory takes them to seven points from their three qualifiers so far and third position in the pool, three points behind leaders Wales but with two games in hand. Liechtenstein are bottom with four defeats, according to Reuters.

Four-time world champions Germany suffered their first away loss in a World Cup qualifier after their shock 2-0 defeat by hosts Slovakia in their opening qualifier for the 2026 tournament, Aljazeera reported.

The Germans, who have set a goal of winning the 2026 World Cup, had never before lost a World Cup qualifier on the road, and they have now lost their last three consecutive matches, following defeats by Portugal and France in the Nations League in June.

“We did not show any emotionality in our game today. In terms of emotions, the opponents were miles ahead of us,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said after Thursday’s defeat. “We want to go to the World Cup, but today we were miles away from that, according to Aljazeera.

Poland fullback Matty Cash fired home a late equaliser to ensure his side held the Netherlands to a 1-1 draw in Thursday’s World Cup qualifier, a major boost to their hopes and a dent to Dutch ambitions, Reuters reported.

A thunderous right-footed shot from the English-born defender in the 80th minute was as much as Poland deserved after a strong second-half performance, having been a goal down at halftime at the Feijenoord Stadium.

The Netherlands and Poland now share top place in Group G with seven points each, although the Dutch have played one game less.

Coach Ronald Koeman had identified Poland as the key team to beat in the group, and his side looked on course to do so after Denzel Dumfries put them ahead in the 28th minute, according to Reuters.