Spain Demolishes Saudi Arabia, Takes Group H Lead

By Daniel Feuerstein | Atlanta, GA | June 21st, 2026

After suffering a scoreless draw to Cabo Verde, Spain was ready to face their next opponent in Saudi Arabia in Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This time, Spain wasted no time in taking down the Middle Eastern side and put them straight to the woodshed, and scored four unanswered goals early and defended very strongly as they earned the clean sheet and put the game away with a final score of four goals to nil.

Mikel Oyarzabal scores a brace

Mikel Oyarzabal had a field day as he scored two goals and an assist to help Spain earn the full three points. He scored two goals in three minutes to help put pressure on the Saudis and never looked back. The first goal came from the far corner, after the ball was delivered and pinballed around. Once it was settled by Dani Olmo, he took a shot that was deflected down by a Saudi defender, but was picked up by Aymeric Laporte, who found Oyarzabal at the far post, and he smacked it home in the 21st minute.

His second goal of the match was a thing of beauty as his teammates did a bit of volleyball with their heads, passing the ball around inside the area. Marc Cucurella got the ball first and headed it toward the six-yard box to Laporte, who quickly headed the ball toward the back post right to Oyarzabal, and all he had to do was lift his left foot and just tap it in past the keeper in the 24th minute. A strong start to the match for Spain

The first goal was scored inside the first ten minutes

The opening goal came after a poor distribution from the Saudi goalkeeper, Mohammed Al-Owais, as he booted the ball to the midfield circle, but Rodri intercepted it. He started to make the run, but passed the ball toward Mikel Oyarzabal, and it was off to the races down the far side of the pitch. When he got close to the Sauui area, Oyarzabal made the long diagonal pass toward the back post, and Lamine Yamal slid to put the ball into the back of the net in the 10th minute for the one-nil lead.

Another early goal in the second half

Spain earned a corner just after the restart of the match. Rodri took the corner from the near side and delivered a great ball that took a deflection toward Cucurella, and he took a big volley to smash it one time. Still, the ball was saved, and then it hit the defender Hassan Alttambakti in the stomach/chest area and past the keeper for an own goal in the 47th minute for the fourth goal of the match.

Spain needed this result

After the scoreless draw against Cabo Verde, Spain really needed this result to put themselves back as one of the favorites to reach the World Cup final. Currently on four points, Spain can now look ahead to Uruguay for that final match day and cement their passage toward the knockout stage into the Round of 32. But for now, Spain can feel good and move forward knowing they have almost both feet through the door.

Spain takes down Saudi Arabia with a four-goal clean sheet victory in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

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