Lamine Yamal scored his first World Cup goal as Spain secured their first win of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in style, thrashing Saudi Arabia 4-0 in their Group H clash at Atlanta Stadium on Sunday.
The European champions dropped points in their opening game as they were held to a goalless draw by debutants Cape Verde. However, Spain bounced back ruthlessly, showing why they are one of the favorites to win the tournament.
Luis de la Fuente’s side wasted no time in asserting their dominance against Saudi Arabia as Yamal scored 10 minutes in to make it 1-0. The teenage sensation slid in at the back post to steer the ball home after Mikel Oyarzabal fired a pass from the left flank, breaking the deadlock.
Spain struck again in the 21st minute as Oyarzabal added a goal to his earlier assist, finishing from close range following Saudi’s inability to deal with a setpiece. The experienced forward continued his impressive performance with another goal three minutes later, making it 3-0.
More Read
Oyarzabal almost completed a first-half hat-trick as his effort clipped the top of the crossbar after an error from goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais. At half-time, the striker was replaced by Ferran Torres while Lamine Yamal came off for Yéremi Pino with Luis de la Fuente protecting his star forwards.
Despite the changes, Spain continued the onslaught in the second half as Marc Cucurella’s volley was saved by Al Owais, but unfortunately rebounded back into the net off Hassan Al Tambakti, making the scoreline 4-0.
The European side came close to extending their lead few minutes later, but Al Owais made an impressive double save, parrying away Pedro Porro’s powerful shot before keeping out Ferran Torres’ rebound.
In the 65th minute, substitute Mikel Merino picked out Ferran Torres with a fine through ball, however, the Barcelona forward was unable to find the net once again, as his effort went wide.
Ferran Torres thought he finally got his goal in the 92nd minute as he tapped home unmarked from seven yards out after a brilliant cross from Pedro Porro. However, following a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out for offside, with the game finishing 4-0.
The result sees Spain go top of Group H with four points while Saudi Arabia sit third with one point. Spain will face Uruguay in their final group game on Saturday, June 27 while Saudi Arabia will need to win when they take on Cape Verde at the same time.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
