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World Cup 2026: Spain outsmart Saudi Arabia for first victory
21st June, 2026 09:48 PM
Spain announced their arrival at the World Cup with a 4-0 thumping of Saudi Arabia in their second group H match on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the Atalanta Stadium.
Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal were among the goal scorers as Luis de la Fuente’s team shrugged off their opening draw against Cape Verde with a statement win.
Piece of history for Yamal
Yamal opened the scoring ten minutes into his first-ever start at a FIFA World Cup, joining the elite company of Pelé, Lionel Messi, and a select few others who have opened their team’s scoring in a World Cup game at the age of 18.
The Barcelona teenage sensation swept home a low cross to set the tone.
The spotlight then turned to Oyarzabal, who had registered an unwanted statistic by not touching the ball in the opening half-hour of Spain’s draw against Cape Verde.
The La Liga ace notched two goals in three minutes to put that stat to bed, putting the game completely out of reach in the first half.
The Real Sociedad player first nicked the ball off a Saudi defender to beat the keeper before displaying his poacher’s instincts with a fine finish from a well-worked Spanish move in the 24th minute.
Marc Cucurella, Real Madrid’s fresh signing from Chelsea, added the third goal after the break, as proceedings proved tough for the Asian opposition, who remained peripheral throughout the game.
Disallowed goal
Ferran Torres thought he had iced the cake with a fifth goal on the scoresheet, but his simple tap-in from Fabián Ruiz’s low cross was ruled out for offside, leaving the European champions with four goals.
With the cruising victory, Spain now tops Group H on four points. Uruguay and Cape Verde face off next to try and keep the Spaniards in check, following the single point each side collected from their respective openers.
