The nation collectively exhaled as Spain's 2026 World Cup campaign was dramatically thrown into gear. Following a largely disappointing and highly scrutinised goalless draw to Cape Verde, La Roja simply had to grab a win, and they certainly delivered the goods against Saudi Arabia. Playing with a swagger that hadn’t been evident on matchday one, Luis de la Fuente's men ran out convincing 4-0 victors at the Atlanta Stadium.
The Lamine Yamal show
Although practically the entire Spanish side was a transformed entity compared to their stalemate against Cape Verde, the undisputed star of the show was young sensation Lamine Yamal. Given his first start for the team in the competition, he more than made his case.
His brilliant display warranted him taking the centre of attention in a thoroughly dominant Spanish performance.
He was responsible for the opening goal of the game, 10 minutes in. The brilliant teenager acted as the perfect poacher and latched onto a beatiful dreiven cross from Oyarzabal, making it his first ever FIFA World Cup goal.
With Yamal terrorising the Saudi defence, he created a host of chances that led to both of Mikel Oyarzabal’s first-half goals. With the game already effectively wrapped up before half-time, de la Fuente wisely rested the star, keeping him fresh for bigger tests ahead.
Oyarzabal redeems himself
It would be no surprise to discover who benefitted the most from Spain's relentless pressure: Mikel Oyarzabal. The forward took the criticism for not recording a single touch in his first 30 minutes against Cape Verde personally, and fired a warning shot back at his critics with two goals within 25 minutes.
Total dominance
You simply could not say that you did not see it coming; even Saudi Arabia who were in the tournament for the very first time and shocked us all by snatching an impressive result with their energetic and resilient efforts on matchday one could not muster the sheer intensity of this Spanish side. And it was clear from an early stage that this wasn’t going to be anything similar to Spain's lacklustre 0-0 stalemate against Cape Verde.
Every man that put their shirt on the line for this Spanish side, from the first minute to the last, put everything on the line, but especially, of course, the young Yamal and Oyarzabal.
Their clinical efforts meant that Spain is now in an enviable position heading into their final Group H tie, and will be desperate to maintain this attacking intensity against Uruguay. A victory here will guarantee them advancement to the FIFA World Cup knockout stages, and will provide all Spanish fans with enormous hope after such a disappointing start.
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