Georgia v Spain leaves ex-Benfica star with one foot in the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Alejandro Grimaldo did not leave the bench during the Georgia - Spain match, but he saw his national team triumph 4-0, putting one foot and a half in the 2026 World Cup. The Spanish right-back, a former Benfica player, was an unused substitute in the match on Georgian soil.

The match took place late last Saturday, November 15. A game where, incidentally, Alejandro Grimaldo was the only player with ties to Benfica. The full-back - who is being linked to new opportunities - did not come off the bench in a match that was controlled from early on.

The first half went well for Spain. The "nuestros hermanos" team took the lead in the 11th minute with a penalty converted by Oyarzabal, and doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute with a precise shot from Zubimendi. Still during the first 45 minutes, Ferran Torres also scored, leaving the score at 3-0 by halftime.

In the second half, Spain managed the lead they brought from the locker room, and the coach took the opportunity to give minutes to less used players. Even so, Georgia suffered the 4-0, in the 63rd minute, again by Oyarzabal, who at that point scored the last goal of the match.

This victory left the former Benfica player Alejandro Grimaldo with 15 points in five games, with only one match left to play. The remaining game is against Turkey, which has 12 points, but can no longer dream of direct qualification for the World Cup, as Spain has a much superior goal difference (the first tiebreaker criterion) compared to the Turks.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.