World Cup qualifying takeaways: Spain's big red machine showing no signs of slowing down

The first international break of the 2025-26 season is almost over and there have been a number of shocks as World Cup qualification really fires into gear.

An underwhelming England win against a lesser opponent was not one of those surprises but there were positive results for Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over an intriguing few days.

Here we pick out five key things we learned during the international break.

Spain in ominous form

It may be 305 days until the start of the 2026 World Cup but Spain have already fired a warning shot to their rivals after a dominant international break.

Spain were already antepost favourites to win next summer’s World Cup before this weekend but they have been trimmed again at the head of the market following two eye-catching performances.

Following on from their European Championship victory, La Roja opened their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over Bulgaria before facing the toughest challenge in their group, an away trip to Turkey.

Luis de la Fuente’s side simply blew away their hosts, though, and a Mikel Merino hat-trick helped the visitors to a 6-0 win over the Crescent-Stars.

Since suffering a 2-0 defeat to Scotland in March 2023, Spain have lost just one of their 29 matches and have won 23 times during that sensational run.

Perhaps most concerningly for their rivals, only two of their current 25-man squad are over 30 years old. Spain appear to be right in their prime and are likely to be a hard team to stop next summer.

Future is bright for Northern Irish youngsters

Northern Ireland lost 3-1 away to Germany on Sunday night but there were plenty of promising signs for Michael O’Neill’s young side in Cologne.

The visitors caused a plethora of issues for Julian Nagelsmann’s men and it took second-half goals from substitute Nadiem Amiri and Liverpool’s £116m man Florian Wirtz for the hosts to pull away.

Considering that only four of this Northern Irish squad currently play for a Premier League team – Conor Bradley, Trai Hume, Justin Devenny and Callum Marshall – it was an admirable showing as they minimised the class difference between the two teams with their application off the ball.

Ten of the 25-man squad are 21 or younger and they are progressing rapidly, and a 3-1 win over Luxembourg before their defeat to Germany showed that they have the attacking tools to hurt most sides.

A pair of crucial home games against Slovakia and Germany await in October as Northern Ireland attempt to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986 but O’Neill’s side have shown that their fans have plenty to look forward to.

Northern Ireland Manager Michael O'Neill will be looking to to build momentum as his side bid to reach the 2026 World CupCredit: Visionhaus/Getty Images

Real test for Tuchel will come next summer

England breezed through Saturday’s qualifier against Andorra, when a goal either side of half-time helped them land a 2-0 success at Villa Park.

While it was hardly an eye-catching performance, the Three Lions will not be overly concerned with their level against the minnows.

The World Cup is the long-term goal and the hosts may have laid some important foundations for that tournament as Elliot Anderson picked up man of the match honours on his England debut.

The Nottingham Forest midfielder was a real standout and will be hoping to cement his place in the team for next summer's cross-Atlantic adventure.

He is more of a physical presence than Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, although it remains unclear if those two are battling it out for one position in midfield or will be allowed to play together.

The pair would complement each other well but with the plethora of attacking talents England have at their disposal, Tuchel may see them as competitors for one spot alongside Declan Rice.

Regardless of that, Anderson has been trimmed from 9-4 two weeks ago to 1-2 to be on the plane next summer.

Wales shake off knocks to keep rolling

One of the effects of the increasingly busy footballing calendar, bulked out by the Nations League having a two-legged quarter-final stage, is that some World Cup qualifying groups are much further ahead than others.

Wales are already halfway through the process and had to show plenty of the stereotypical Craig Bellamy fight to get through a tough assignment away to Kazakhstan, winning 1-0.

The Red Dragons were without Danny Ward, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Connor Roberts and captain Aaron Ramsey through injury, too, so three points on a plastic pitch following a 3,500 mile trip was sweet relief.

Cardiff central defender Dylan Lawlor was impressive on debut and Bellamy’s men showed that they can dig in when needed, something that seemed to be missing at times under previous manager Rob Page.

The big challenge awaits in the November internationals when they host North Macedonia, their likely competitors for second spot behind Belgium.

Lionel Messi will be hoping to lead Argentina to back-to-back World Cups for the first time since 1962.

Lionel Messi will be hoping to lead Argentina to back-to-back World Cup successesCredit: Julian Finney

Messi continues to defy logic

To be able to witness the swansong of Lionel Messi’s career has been nothing short of a privilege and the Argentinian was at his brilliant best with two goals in what may be his last international on home soil.

Messi has had a fractious relationship with Argentina’s fans over the years but they have reconciled and the faithful in Buenos Aries worshipped him on Friday.

Lionel Scaloni’s team top the South American qualifying group by ten points and are a best-priced 8-1 to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup crown.

While he has publicly said he is unsure if he will play next summer, surely the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner will find it hard to resist. If Messi leads his team to that title, he will be immortal.

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Published on 8 September 2025inWorld Cup