After the embarrassment of a goalless draw against Cape Verde in the opening match, Spain came to Atlanta with one thing in mind: They had to deliver. And they did – with one of the most complete attacking plays we’ve seen in this World Cup so far.
Three goals in 24 minutes decided the game before halftime
Luis de la Fuente made one change from the draw against Cape Verde: Lamine Yamal started instead of coming on as a substitute after 70 minutes. The decision took no more than ten minutes before it was fully justified.
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Oyarzabal stormed down the left wing and hit an inviting, low cross towards the back post. Yamal, who came at full speed, slid in and steered the ball into the goal from close range.
With that, he became the second player aged 18 or younger to score the first goal in a World Cup match. The first? A 17-year-old boy named Pelé, who made it for Brazil against Wales in 1958.
Saudi Arabia barely had time to digest the shock before it was 2-0. A corner kick was cleared unluckily in the box, Dani Olmo nodded on, and Aymeric Laporte headed the ball into Oyarzabal’s running path. The Real Sociedad striker pushed it into the goal on the right – his first of the evening – and in that moment the game died as a moment of tension.
Three minutes later, it was 3-0. A diagonal cross, Cucurella’s soft touch, Olmo’s header in the back room, and there Oyarzabal was again – another close-range finish. Thus, he became only the second player in World Cup history to be directly involved in three goals in the first 25 minutes of a match, after Hungary’s Laszlo Fazekas against El Salvador in 1982.
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Saudi Arabia was in shock. Captain Salem Al-Dawsari received a yellow card for a frustrated and wild tackle on Porro – he could hardly believe what was happening. A desperate defender even attempted a lob from his own half of the field when he saw that Simon was standing far out.
Own goal made it 4-0 four minutes into the second half
De la Fuente took a conservative approach to halftime. Oyarzabal, who came close to scoring a hat trick, was taken off to be spared for later rounds – as was Yamal.
Substitutes Ferran Torres and Yeremi Pino barely had time to break a sweat before 4-0 was a fact. Alex Baena’s corner from the left was nodded on, Cucurella volleyed towards goal, and Al Owais saved – but the ball bounced straight into the unfortunate Hassan Al-Tambakti and rolled into the goal.
Spain slowed down – but controlled everything
When the job was done after just over an hour, Spain slowed down and controlled the game with all authority. Rodri, who had 100 touches and a 93 percent pass accuracy, was greeted with a standing ovation when he was replaced by Fabián Ruiz after 70 minutes.
Pedri’s six ball wins were the most by a Spaniard in a World Cup match since Juanito against Saudi Arabia in 2006.
Saudi Arabia got their first finish on goal in the 81st minute, but Al-Hamdan’s shot from 20 yards gave Simon little to worry about.
At that point, the only question was whether Spain would score a fifth goal. Torres thought he had it in injury time – he put in from close range after a nice combination with Pino and Ruiz – but VAR disallowed the goal for the slightest offside.
It didn’t matter. Spain had already done what they had to do. In style.
