Spain course correct with Saudi Arabia thrashing
Spain shrugged off their stuttering start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup by thrashing Saudi Arabia 4-0 in a Group H match at Atlanta Stadium on Sunday evening.
The 2010 World Champions began their campaign in North America with a goalless stalemate against debutants Cape Verde six days ago, raising some question marks over their status as one of the title favourites.
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But against the Green Falcons they were back to their fluent, creative and clinical best, racking up an emphatic triumph which takes them to the verge of qualification for the knockout phase.
The European Champions run riot in Atlanta 👏🇪🇸#FIFAWorldCup2026 | #DStvFIFAWorldCup2026 | #EverythingCanWait pic.twitter.com/vjKszGP03i — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) June 21, 2026
Spain dominated from the first whistle and claimed the lead in the 10th minute, with Mikel Oyarzabal playing a superb low cross from the left to pick out Lamine Yamal’s run to the far post – the Barcelona youngster slid in to finish at close range for 1-0.
Eleven minutes later La Roja made it 2-0, with Saudi Arabia unable to clear from a corner kick and Oyarzabal stabbing home a left-footed effort to put the European champions in complete control.
And it was 3-0 in the 24th minute, with Oyarzabal tucking home at close range from Dani Olmo’s header across the face of goal.
Oyarzabal could have had a hat-trick inside the first half, missing out on two further opportunities: with one he struck the crossbar after collecting a poor pass out from Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais, and in the second he dragged a low shot wide from the left of the penalty area.
The second half saw Spain withdraw Yamal and Oyarzabal, while the Green Falcons also made two changes, but the dominance for the team in red continued unabated, as they scored a fourth goal in the 49th minute.
A corner kick found its way to an unmarked Marc Cucurella, whose sweetly-struck volley was well saved by Al Owais, but the rebound hit defender Hassan Tambakti and bounced into the net for an unfortunate own goal.
Spain took their foot off the pedal for the remainder of the match, coasting to a comprehensive victory. They thought they had scored a fifth in injury time when Ferran Torres tapped home from Pedro Porro’s square ball, but the effort was ruled out by VAR.
The teams will conclude their Group H campaigns with concurrent matches on the morning (02:00 CAT) of Saturday 27 June, with Saudi Arabia facing Cape Verde in Houston, and Spain tackling Uruguay in Zapopan.
Spain (3) 4 (L. Yamal 10’, M. Oyarzabal 21’ 24’, H. Tambakti og 49’)
Saudi Arabia 0
Spain: U. Simon, P. Porro, P. Cubarsi, A. Laporte, M. Cucurella, D. Olmo (M. Merino 61’), Rodri, Pedri (F. Ruiz 70’), L. Yamal (Y. Pino 46’), M. Oyarzabal (F. Torres 46’), A. Baena (N. Williams 61’)
Saudi Arabia: M. Al Owais, S. Abdulhamid, A. Al Amri (A. Hejji 61’), A. Lajami, H. Tambakti, M. Al Harbi, M. Al Juwayr (A. Al Hamdan 46’), A. Al Khaibari (M. Kanno 46’), N. Al Dawsari (K. Al Ghannam 90’), S. Al Dawsari, F. Al Buraikan
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