The reigning European Champions face Turkey on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, kick-off at 22:00 hours local time, in the first of two World Cup qualifiers in the space of five days. The hosts on paper are clear favourites going into the World Cup qualifier with Turkey. Spain, who have not lost a match in over two years (a 1-0 defeat in a friendly to Romania in Cadiz in November 2006), lead the Fifa Rankings since July 2008 and are unbeaten in 38 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

Spain also hold the upper-hand in head-to-head meetings with Turkey with three wins, four draws and just the one defeat- back in 1954.

Saturday night could well be a very special occasion for Fernando Torres. Should the striker play for his country, he will collect his 60th cap for Spain and also set a new national record in the process. The 25 year old would not become only the 14th Spanish footballer to have reached the 60 game milestone for Spain, he would also become the youngest player to achieve this feat.

Vicente Del Bosque’s team, who still hold a 100% record in their four qualification games so far, lead Group 5 with 12 points, ahead of second-placed Turkey on 8 points. 2010 World Cup qualifiers - Group 5 table.

The Turkey national team arrived at the Spanish capital on Monday. The 25-man squad have been training throughout the week at Valdebebas, Real Madrid’s training complex.

Coach Fatih Terim has recalled two key players to his squad for the double header versus Spain, with Rustu and Nihat returning.


- Turkey Squad:

Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe), Rustu Recber (Besiktas) and Ufuk Ceylan (Manisaspor)

Defenders: Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahçe), Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray), Emre Asik (Galatasaray), Sedat Bayrak (Sivasspor), Ibrahim Kas (Getafe), Eren Gungor (Kayserispor), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray) and Ibrahim Uzulmez (Besiktas)

Midfielders: Hamit Altintop (Bayern), Kazim Kazim (Fenerbahçe), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Mehmet Aurelio (Betis), Emre Belozoglu (Fenerbahçe), Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund), Mevlut Erdinç (Sochaux), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough) and Arda Turan (Galatasaray)

Strikers: Nihat (Villarreal), Batuhan Karadeniz (Besiktas), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahçe), Gokhan Unal (Trabzonspor) and Sercan Yildirim (Bursaspor)

Following the match at the Santiago Bernabeu, Spain travel to Istanbul on Monday where they will face Turkey on Wednesday April 1st at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium.


Photo: J.A. Sirvent