Turkey defeated Spain 3:1 at the Mediterranean Games on Thursday evening. The result leaves the visitors unbeaten in four matches while Spain drop further behind in the group standings. By then the tournament had already begun to take shape, and this fixture shifted the balance.
Turkey sit first in the table with eleven points from four games — four wins, no draws, no defeats. Spain occupy third place with six points, having won twice and lost twice. And here's the thing about groups like this: one result rarely decides everything, but it certainly tells you where the momentum lies.
Spain's recent form has been uneven. They beat Kosovo 3:0 and Egypt 3:0 in mid-August, but followed those with losses to Czech Republic and Greece, both 1:3. The score against Turkey echoes those defeats — another match where they failed to contain an opponent that moved forward decisively.
Turkey's record tells a different story. They have won four consecutive matches, including victories over Egypt, Kosovo, and Greece. Their only blemish came against Slovenia on July 29, when they lost 3:0 away. Since then they have been back in full training for the tournament, and their confidence shows in the results.
The gap between first and third is now five points. Turkey will want to keep that cushion, while Spain need to ground out the win in their remaining games to stay in contention. The standings say what the results already suggest — Turkey are the team to beat so far.
