Spain Beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 as Yamal and Oyarzabal Shine
Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia: Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal score as La Roja bounce back from their Cabo Verde shock at the 2026 World Cup.
Six days after Cabo Verde's goalkeeper frustrated them in their opener, Spain reminded everyone why they came into this World Cup as favourites.
La Roja beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Atlanta on Sunday, with Lamine Yamal opening the scoring in the 10th minute and Mikel Oyarzabal following up with two goals in the 21st and 24th minutes. It was the response Luis de la Fuente needed after his side were held scoreless by Cabo Verde in their opener.
A flat start turns into a rout
Spain had gone into the tournament as reigning European champions and one of the most fancied teams in the draw, only to be held 0-0 by World Cup debutants Cabo Verde, whose 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was the standout performer. It was one of the bigger shocks of the tournament's opening round.
There was no repeat of that frustration against Saudi Arabia. Yamal, restored to the starting XI after coming off the bench against Cabo Verde, broke the deadlock in the 10th minute with his first career FIFA World Cup goal, sliding in at the back post to convert a cross from Oyarzabal. It was the moment Spain had been waiting for since his fitness became a major talking point heading into the tournament.
Oyarzabal then took over. Having provided the assist for Yamal's opener, he doubled Spain's lead himself in the 21st minute and added another three minutes later. Both Yamal and Oyarzabal were withdrawn at half-time, with Spain already 3-0 up and De la Fuente managing his stars' minutes. Saudi Arabia's misery was completed early in the second half when a Marc Cucurella effort was saved by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, with the rebound deflecting in off Hassan Al-Tambakti for an own goal in the 49th minute, confirmed by the official FIFA match centre as the final scoreline of 4-0.
How the goals went in
Minute | Scorer | Goal credited to |
|---|---|---|
10' | Lamine Yamal | Spain |
21' | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain |
24' | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain |
49' (OG) | Hassan Al-Tambakti (Saudi Arabia) | Spain |
Spain dominated the game, finishing with 66% possession and a 21-3 advantage in shots, according to live match data from Yahoo Sports. Saudi Arabia were held to a single shot on target all game. A late Ferran Torres effort was also ruled out for offside after a VAR review, according to ESPN's live coverage of the match, which would have made the margin even more emphatic.
What it means for Group H
Group H had been one of the tighter sections of the draw after the opening round, with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Cabo Verde all drawing their first matches, leaving the table level on points. Spain's win changes that picture significantly, putting them firmly in control of their own qualification with a game to play.
The group, as laid out on FIFA's official standings page, is contested by Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, with the top two, and possibly a high-ranked third-place team, advancing to the round of 32. Uruguay and Cabo Verde were scheduled to play their own Group H fixture later on Sunday, a result that will shape the final picture before the deciding round of matches.
Both remaining group games are set for Friday, June 26: Cabo Verde face Saudi Arabia, and Spain take on Uruguay, with both fixtures kicking off at the same time, according to the schedule on ESPN. Saudi Arabia now need a result against Cabo Verde to keep their own knockout hopes alive, with their path likely also depending on how the rest of the group finishes.
The Yamal storyline isn't going away
Yamal's fitness has dominated Spain's build-up to this tournament. He'd only managed a late cameo against Cabo Verde as he worked his way back from a hamstring problem, and questions lingered over whether he'd be sharp enough to start. He'd come off the bench in the opener as a second-half substitute marking his return from injury, and his recall to the starting line-up against Saudi Arabia was always going to be watched closely.
Ten minutes in, he settled the question for one night, at least, scoring his first World Cup goal at 18 years and 343 days old, one of the youngest players in the tournament's history to find the net. It's the kind of moment that fuels the comparisons Spain's coaching staff have been careful not to lean into, De la Fuente has played down the Messi talk, even as Yamal keeps producing the numbers that invite it.
Why this result matters beyond the scoreline
A four-goal win does more than settle nerves, it resets the group's psychology heading into matchday three. Spain were starting to face real questions after the Cabo Verde draw, a single dominant performance against a team they were expected to beat doesn't erase those questions outright, but it buys De la Fuente's side breathing room and goal difference that could matter if the group stays tight.
For Saudi Arabia, the picture is starker. A draw against Uruguay in their opener had kept their qualification hopes alive, conceding four without much of a foothold in the game changes the maths heading into their final fixture against Cabo Verde.
Spain will travel to Zapopan to face Uruguay next, sitting on four points and provisionally top of Group H. Exactly what's needed to finish first will depend on how Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia's results elsewhere play into the final standings, but Spain are in control of their own fate in a way they weren't a week ago.
- Spain vs Saudi Arabia
- World Cup 2026
- Lamine Yamal
- Mikel Oyarzabal
- Group H
- FIFA World Cup
