Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia: Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal shine in dominant win
Spain kickstarted their World Cup campaign as Lamine Yamal and a Mikel Oyarzabal brace inspired a ruthless 4-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia in Atlanta.
Spain truly arrived at the 2026 World Cup as a sparkling first-half blitz blew Saudi Arabia away in Atlanta to put the European champions in complete control of Group H.
After the frustration of their opening goalless draw against Cape Verde, Luis de la Fuente’s side responded with a performance of frightening authority and swagger, sealing a 4-0 victory that barely reflected the chasm in quality between the two teams.
The pre-match headlines belonged to Lamine Yamal, restored to the starting line-up after recovering from a hamstring injury, and the 18-year-old superstar wasted no time making his mark on football’s grandest stage. With just 10 minutes on the clock, Mikel Oyarzabal turned provider, sliding a perfectly weighted low cross to the back post where Yamal gleefully converted to become the eighth-youngest goalscorer in World Cup history.
Saudi Arabia, so often the author of their own undoing under the relentless Spanish high press, simply could not cope with the speed of La Roja’s ball circulation. The game was effectively settled as a contest during a devastating three-minute window.
In the 21st minute, Oyarzabal turned from provider to scorer, poking home from close range after Dani Olmo’s deflected effort was kept alive by Aymeric Laporte. Before the Green Falcons could even gather their thoughts, it was three. Marc Cucurella’s deep delivery was nodded back across goal by Olmo, allowing Real Sociedad forward Oyarzabal to ghost in and double his personal tally.
Oyarzabal was a man transformed from his quiet opening game, and he was inches away from a first-half hat-trick when he intercepted a stray clearance from Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, only to see his audacious chipped effort crash back off the crossbar.
With the points safe, De la Fuente showed the luxury of Spain’s squad depth by withdrawing both Yamal and Oyarzabal at half-time, but there was no drop in intensity.
Four minutes after the restart, Spain added a fourth. Cucurella met a bouncing corner with a ferocious volley that Al-Owais did brilliantly to save, but the unfortunate Hassan Altambakti could do nothing but deflect the rebound into his own net.
From then on, it was an exercise in game management for Spain, who dictated the tempo through the peerless Rodri in midfield. Saudi Arabia showed admirable pride and enjoyed brief spells of possession late on, but they rarely threatened Unai Simón’s goal, registering just a single speculative shot on target all evening.
There was a late flutter of drama deep into stoppage time when substitute Ferran Torres tapped home what he thought was a fifth, but a lengthy VAR review ultimately spared Saudi Arabia further misery, ruling the Barcelona forward fractionally offside.
Having accumulated an astonishing 20 shots over the 90 minutes, Spain move to four points at the top of the standings. They face Uruguay next on Friday, knowing their tournament credentials have been emphatically restored.
