World Cup: Spain Thrash Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Group H
After a flat draw with Cape Verde, La Furia found their rhythm. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring and Mikel Oyarzabal struck twice.
- Spain beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 in their second Group H match and seized control of the group.
- Scorers: Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal with two goals, and a Hassan Tambakti own goal.
- After a flat draw with Cape Verde, this was La Furia's first convincing display of the tournament.
- At just 18, Yamal is again among the youngest scorers in World Cup history.
Only a few minutes had been played when the ball reached the right flank and the whole stadium held its breath. Lamine Yamal took it down, dropped his shoulder, slipped into the box and produced the move everyone already knows by heart yet nobody seems able to stop. The Saudi keeper went one way, the ball went the other, and Spain finally had the wind at their backs that they had lacked all through the opening round.
This was the Spain we had been waiting for. After the draw with Cape Verde, when they looked sluggish and short of ideas in the final third, Luis de la Fuente’s side walked out like a team that knew exactly what it wanted. Saudi Arabia tried to sit deep and counter, but the gap in quality was too wide to hide behind a disciplined block.
Yamal opened the night with a goal after a fine assist from Mikel Oyarzabal, and then the experienced Real Sociedad forward took over the lead role. He scored his first with his foot, finishing into the bottom corner after a move that tore the Saudi defence apart. His second came from close range, ice-cold, as if he were in training. The full stop came from a Hassan Tambakti own goal, the defender turning the ball into his own net while trying to cut out a cross.
How much does this really matter for La Furia?
A 4-0 win is more than three points. It restores confidence to a team that in the first round looked like it was carrying the weight of being favourites more heavily than it should. Oyarzabal’s brace is especially valuable, because Spain have lately lacked a classic striker who decides matters inside the box rather than just a midfielder combining around its edge.
Then there is Yamal. At 18 he once again writes his name into the list of the youngest scorers in World Cup history, and without a hint of nerves. What sets him apart is not only the talent but the calm with which he makes decisions in moments when others panic. De la Fuente now has the luxury of building an attack around a player only entering his best years who already carries the team on his shoulders.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, are left in a tough spot. A side that dreamed of an upset must now count on every remaining point, with their goal difference badly damaged after this defeat.
What next in Group H?
Spain have handed themselves real comfort heading into the final round. With six points after two matches, La Furia can set their own pace, while the rest of the group must now rely on results elsewhere. For de la Fuente the key is to keep this level of energy, because the tournament is only entering the phase where the smallest mistakes get punished.
What encourages is that Spain solved two problems in a single match, their attacking inefficiency and their lack of bite in the opening half hour. If Yamal keeps this rhythm and Oyarzabal holds his scoring form, few will want to draw La Furia in the knockout stage.
Did Spain send a message to the other favourites with this display that they are once again among the main candidates for the title, or was Saudi Arabia simply too easy an opponent to draw any big conclusions?
