Spain responds emphatically after its opening draw with Cape Verde, crushing Saudi Arabia in Atlanta behind a brilliant first-half performance from Mikel Oyarzabal. La Roja moves to the brink of qualification for the Round of 32.
Spain finally announced its arrival at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a statement victory, dismantling Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Atlanta and putting itself in a commanding position to advance from Group H.
After an underwhelming scoreless draw against Cape Verde in their opener, Luis de la Fuente’s side needed a convincing response and delivered exactly that. La Roja dominated from the opening whistle, overwhelming Saudi Arabia with quick passing, relentless movement and clinical finishing.
The star of the evening was Mikel Oyarzabal, who produced one of the finest individual performances of the tournament so far. The Real Sociedad forward assisted the opening goal, scored twice in the span of three minutes and even rattled the crossbar with an audacious trivela effort before halftime.
Spain struck first after just ten minutes. Oyarzabal found space inside the box and squared the ball perfectly for Lamine Yamal, who tapped home from close range to score on his first-ever World Cup start. The teenager’s goal made him one of the youngest scorers in tournament history and rewarded De la Fuente’s decision to trust him from the opening whistle.
The match was effectively over before the half-hour mark. At 21 minutes, Oyarzabal anticipated a hesitant defensive intervention from former Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid and beat Mohammed Al-Owais to double Spain’s lead. Three minutes later, the striker completed his brace, finishing another flowing attacking move and capping a devastating opening half.
Saudi Arabia never threatened Unai Simón’s goal and struggled to cope with Spain’s intensity. Salem Al-Dawsari, one of the heroes of previous World Cup campaigns, was largely anonymous, while striker Firas Al-Buraikan received little service.
Spain added a fourth goal shortly after halftime. Marc Cucurella’s effort from a corner-kick sequence deflected off defender Hassan Tambakti and into the net for an unfortunate own goal, summing up a miserable evening for the Saudi backline.
La Roja nearly made it five in stoppage time, but Ferran Torres saw his goal ruled out for offside. It hardly mattered, as Spain had already secured a dominant victory that lifts the team to four points and leaves qualification all but assured.
Saudi Arabia remains on one point and will now need a positive result in its final group-stage match to keep its hopes alive.
Match Report
Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia
Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simón; Porro, Laporte, Cubarsí, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri (70′ Fabián Ruiz), Dani Olmo (61′ Merino); Yamal (46′ Yeremy Pino), Oyarzabal (46′ Ferran Torres), Baena (61′ Nico Williams).
Coach: Luis de la Fuente.
Saudi Arabia (5-3-2): Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Lajami, Al-Amri (60′ Hejji), Tambakti, Al-Harbi; Al-Juwayr (46′ Al-Hamdan), Al-Khaibari (46′ Kanno), N. Al-Dawsari (90′ Al-Ghannam); Al-Buraikan (60′ Abu Al-Shamat), Salem Al-Dawsari.
Coach: Georgios Donis.
Referee: Claus (Brazil).
Goals: 10′ Yamal, 21′ Oyarzabal, 24′ Oyarzabal, 49′ own goal Tambakti.
Bookings: Salem Al-Dawsari, Kanno (Saudi Arabia).
Red Cards: None.
Venue: Atlanta.
