Spain got their World Cup campaign back on track as impressive first-half displays from Mikel Oyarzabal and Lamine Yamal sealed an emphatic 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
Following their shock goalless draw with tournament debutants Cape Verde, Spain looked back to their brilliant best here and moved top of Group H after their first two matches.
Having already shown flashes of early brilliance, Yamal needed just 10 minutes to mark his first start at a World Cup with a goal, as the talented teenager tapped Oyarzabal’s teasing cross from the left past Mohammed Al Owais at the back post.
Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Al Owais was then on his toes to deny Alex Baena an effort on goal after he was cleverly picked out by Yamal, but Spain’s persistence eventually prevailed when Oyarzabal struck twice in three minutes to put the game beyond reach.
After Saudi Arabia failed to deal with a corner, Dani Olmo’s snapshot was flicked on by Aymeric Laporte and Saud Abdulhamid was caught out by Oyarzabal, who took a touch before finishing into the bottom-right corner.
Oyarzabal brought up his brace soon after with a cushioned volley from close range, and the Real Sociedad man came within inches of a first-half hat-trick nine minutes before the break, but his outside-of-the-foot attempt clipped the crossbar after Al Owais gifted him possession.
3 – With two goals and an assist, Spains Mikel Oyarzabal is only the second player on record (from 1966) to score or assist three goals in the opening 25 minutes of a FIFA World Cup match, after Hungarys László Fazekas against El Salvador in 1982 (1 goal, 2 assists).
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— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 21, 2026">
With the damage done at half-time, Luis de la Fuente chose to replace Oyarzabal and Yamal, but Spain increased their advantage four minutes after the restart when Marc Cucurella's shot was saved, only for the rebound to hit the unfortunate Hassan Al Tambakti and roll into the net.
La Roja continued to pile on the pressure to add further gloss to the scoreline, but Pedro Porro's stinging drive and a Ferran Torres header were repelled by Al Owais, with the latter also seeing a stoppage-time strike ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Oyarzabal enjoys Cape Verde redemption as Yamal makes his mark
Spain were criticised for being too slow and lethargic as they laboured to a surprise draw with Cape Verde, with Oyarzabal the man taking the brunt of that. He became the first player on record with 0 touches in the first 30 minutes of a World Cup game last time out, but this time, he was the star of the show.
With two goals and an assist, Oyarzabal is only the second player on record (from 1966) to score or assist three goals in the opening 25 minutes of a World Cup match, after Hungary's Laszlo Fazekas against El Salvador in 1982 (one goal and two assists).
He has also now been involved in 21 goals in 14 matches for Spain since the start of 2025 (14 goals, seven assists), the second-highest tally by a European player across all competitions for his national team during this period, behind Erling Haaland (21).
But Yamal, of course, had to have his say. Aged 18 years and 343 days, he is only the second teenager to score for Spain at the World Cup, after Gavi against Costa Rica in 2022 (18y 110d). He also finished with team-high totals for successful dribbles (two) and shots (five).
18 - Lamine Yamal is only the second player aged 18 or younger to open the scoring in a FIFA World Cup match - the other was a 17-year-old Pelé for Brazil v Wales in 1958.
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— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 21, 2026">
Yamal and Oyarzabal's showings laid the foundations for Spain to give much-needed minutes to both Mikel Merino and Nico Williams, as La Roja finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.85 from their 22 shots to Saudi Arabia's 0.14 from their three attempts.
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