2026 World Cup: The Real Spain Finally Shines—Saudi Arabia Crushed

Spain did not disappoint this time: after stumbling in their first match against Cape Verde, De La Fuente’s team crushed Saudi Arabia in their second Group H match of the 2026 World Cup. The Red Fury won 4-0 in Atlanta, temporarily taking sole possession of first place in their group. The Saudis remain stuck on one point.

Lamine Yamal opened the scoring right away in the 10th minute: the team’s star, who initially started on the bench in the opener, immediately found the back of the net in his first start, becoming the eighth-youngest player to score in a World Cup. The Barcelona star made it 1-0 in the 10th minute with a split kick off a cross from Oyarzabal at the end of a quick Spanish counterattack.

Then Real Sociedad forward Oyarzabal took center stage: heavily criticized after the first match against Cape Verde, the Basque player redeemed himself by scoring a brace in two minutes. In the 19th minute, he was the quickest to beat Al-Owais following a scramble in the box; in the 21st minute, he doubled the lead with a turn-and-shoot finish off an assist from Dani Olmo. Before halftime, he nearly scored a third goal but hit the crossbar.

Spain took their foot off the gas in the second half to conserve energy. Right at the 49-minute mark, the score became 4-0 by chance thanks to an own goal by Al Tambakt following a shot by Cururella. The Spanish weren’t as dominant as in the first half (where they had 75% possession), but they still came close to scoring a fifth goal on several occasions against a Saudi Arabia side that was practically harmless.

A 5-0 score would have been achieved in stoppage time at the 92-minute mark by Ferran Torres, assisted by Pedro Porro, but the goal was disallowed for offside. The message to their rivals, however, was clear: Spain is here to stay.