Spain Roars Back with 4-0 Victory Over Saudi Arabia
Spain did not just respond. They roared back.
Four days after being held to a lifeless 0-0 by Cape Verde, La Roja tore into Saudi Arabia with a 4-0 win that felt like a statement as much as a scoreline. The anxiety that had hovered over their World Cup campaign evaporated in Atlanta under a blur of red shirts, quick passes and one 17-year-old who looks entirely at home on this stage.
Yamal lights the fuse
Lamine Yamal was restored to the starting XI after his electric cameo in the opener. Within seconds, he was demanding the ball, whipping in crosses, driving at defenders. Spain, so ponderous on Monday, suddenly played at a different speed.
The breakthrough came on 11 minutes, and it was all about his instinct. Marc Cucurella’s cross was fizzed low by Mikel Oyarzabal, and at the back post, Yamal darted into a pocket of space and poked home from a tight angle. Not a trademark curler, not a highlight-reel solo. Just a poacher’s finish, the kind that swells a forward’s numbers and a team’s belief.
His first World Cup goal. His first World Cup start. Two years ago he was watching the tournament from a classroom, as he told DAZN. Now, he is bending it to his will with his family in the stands.
That goal came at the end of a 39-pass move. No side at this World Cup had strung so many passes together before scoring. Spain’s old identity, but with a sharper edge.
Oyarzabal takes over
Once Yamal had broken the door down, Oyarzabal walked through it twice.
On 21 minutes, Spain’s second arrived in scruffier fashion. A scramble at the back post, a loose ball, and Oyarzabal jabbed it over the line. Two minutes later, the finish was cleaner and the message clearer. A low ball into the box, a composed touch, and he steered it past Mohammed Al Owais from close range.
Three goals inside 25 minutes. No team had done that at a World Cup since Germany in 2014. The shock of Cape Verde suddenly felt distant.
Oyarzabal almost had his hat-trick before the break. A dreadful back pass from Al Owais landed at his feet, begging to be punished. The forward hit it first time and watched it kiss the top of the crossbar. A fraction lower and Spain would have been four up before the first hydration break.
Still, his work was done early. Luis de la Fuente, celebrating his 65th birthday, made a ruthless but sensible call at half-time: both Oyarzabal and Yamal were withdrawn, banked for the battles to come. Spain had their cushion; now they would protect their legs.
Control, an own goal and a warning
The second half lost the frenzy but not the pattern. Spain eased off the throttle yet never loosened their grip. Saudi Arabia struggled to escape their own half for long spells, penned in by Spain’s pressing and passing.
The fourth goal, on 49 minutes, summed up the gulf. A corner was flicked on, Cucurella met it with a driven effort, Al Owais produced a sharp save, and then misfortune struck Hassan Al Tambakti. The rebound cannoned off the defender and into his own net.
Al Tambakti’s touch continued an unwanted theme of this tournament: own goals are arriving at a remarkable rate. His was the eighth of World Cup 2026, already surpassing every edition bar 2018, and the group stage is only halfway done.
Spain thought they had a fifth in stoppage time. Ferran Torres slid in to convert a Fabian Ruiz cross, wheeled away, and waited. VAR intervened, lines were drawn, and after a long review the offside call stood. No fifth goal, but no dent in the mood either.
“Now we’ve arrived”
For Spain, this was about more than three points. It was about restoring authority and identity after that bruising draw.
“We knew the first game wasn’t really us,” Yamal told DAZN. “Now we’ve arrived and we’re going for more.” His own plan had been simple: play a half, make an impact, rest for what comes next. Being 3-0 up by the break made it perfect.
De la Fuente, who had demanded “more verticality and more intensity” after Cape Verde, got exactly that. From the first minute Spain suffocated Saudi Arabia, driving shots at goal, forcing errors, turning sterile possession into cutting attacks.
“We played an exceptional first half and a good second,” he said. The performance, he stressed, was a step they needed to take before the “very tough” test of Uruguay.
He also revealed Oyarzabal had been carrying a minor issue, one not shared publicly until now, yet still “delivers an exceptional performance.” As for Yamal, the coach insisted the teenager is now ready for full matches, even as he chose to withdraw him early and “leave him hungry for more.”
A superstar and a standard
Spain’s squad is deep, balanced and experienced, but this night underlined something else: the power of a superstar to drag everyone up a level.
Yamal’s early surge – the dribbles, the crosses, the shots – set the tone. His team-mates followed. The passing sharpened, the runs became braver, the finishing more ruthless. Spain looked like a side that not only wants to control games, but hurt opponents while they do it.
The table now reflects that shift. Spain sit top of Group H ahead of Uruguay’s late kick-off against Cape Verde, while Saudi Arabia drop to the bottom.
The real examination is still to come. Uruguay will not allow 39-pass strolls to the byline or space for a teenager to treat a World Cup like a schoolyard. But after this in Atlanta, the question has changed.
It is no longer whether Spain have arrived. It is how far this version of La Roja, led by a 17-year-old with the world at his feet, can go.
