A control method of an internal combustion engine, the internal combustion engine comprising: - a fuel injection valve having a plurality of injection holes and adapted to directly inject fuel into a cylinder and - an ignition plug comprising a center electrode and an outer electrode and adapted to ignite the injected fuel, wherein in the control method spark ignition is performed by the ignition plug which is disposed so that a discharging region of the ignition plug is sandwiched by a first fuel spray and a second fuel spray injected from two adjacent ones of the injection holes and having an angle formed by the first and second fuel sprays (B2, B3) being smaller than an angle formed between each of the first and second fuel sprays (B2, B3) and another adjacent fuel spray (B1, B4, B5, B6) and is located within a range where the turbulence in the air flow is generated, wherein the ignition plug is installed so that a plane containing a central axis (B2c) of the first fuel spray and a central axis (B3c) of the second fuel spray crosses between the center electrode and the outer electrode, characterized in that - when performing retarded combustion, spark ignition is performed during an expansion stroke after fuel injection is performed during the expansion stroke and - spark ignition is performed by the ignition plug while turbulence in an air flow is generated by the fuel injection in a vicinity of the ignition plug due to the fuel injection during the expansion stroke to extend a plug discharging channel. the internal combustion engine comprising: - a fuel injection valve having a plurality of injection holes and adapted to directly inject fuel into a cylinder and - an ignition plug comprising a center electrode and an outer electrode and adapted to ignite the injected fuel, - a fuel injection valve having a plurality of injection holes and adapted to directly inject fuel into a cylinder and - an ignition plug comprising a center electrode and an outer electrode and adapted to ignite the injected fuel, wherein in the control method spark ignition is performed by the ignition plug which is disposed so that a discharging region of the ignition plug is sandwiched by a first fuel spray and a second fuel spray injected from two adjacent ones of the injection holes and having an angle formed by the first and second fuel sprays (B2, B3) being smaller than an angle formed between each of the first and second fuel sprays (B2, B3) and another adjacent fuel spray (B1, B4, B5, B6) and is located within a range where the turbulence in the air flow is generated, wherein the ignition plug is installed so that a plane containing a central axis (B2c) of the first fuel spray and a central axis (B3c) of the second fuel spray crosses between the center electrode and the outer electrode, characterized in that - when performing retarded combustion, spark ignition is performed during an expansion stroke after fuel injection is performed during the expansion stroke and - spark ignition is performed by the ignition plug while turbulence in an air flow is generated by the fuel injection in a vicinity of the ignition plug due to the fuel injection during the expansion stroke to extend a plug discharging channel. - when performing retarded combustion, spark ignition is performed during an expansion stroke after fuel injection is performed during the expansion stroke and - spark ignition is performed by the ignition plug while turbulence in an air flow is generated by the fuel injection in a vicinity of the ignition plug due to the fuel injection during the expansion stroke to extend a plug discharging channel.