Spain routs Saudi Arabia 4-0 to get World Cup campaign back on track

Blistering start eases Spanish nerves

Spain needed barely 45 minutes to erase the memory of their disjointed opening draw. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring inside the first quarter-hour, and Mikel Oyarzabal struck twice before the interval to put the game beyond Saudi Arabia. The two forwards were withdrawn at half-time as Yéremy Pino and Ferran Torres took their places, but Spain’s control never wavered. Defender Marc Cucurella added the fourth after the break, rounding off a confident display at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Group H remains delicately poised

The 4-0 win lifts Spain to four points, three clear of a trio locked on one point each, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Cape Verde. With eight of the 12 third-place finishers advancing to the round of 32, the result does not guarantee Spain a knockout place, but it relieves the pressure ahead of a final group fixture. The four teams will now await the outcome of Uruguay’s late-night meeting with Cape Verde to clarify the race for top-two positions.

De la Fuente’s changes pay off

Facing widespread scrutiny after a goalless stalemate with Cape Verde, coach Luis de la Fuente shuffled his forward line and was rewarded with an aggressive pressing display. The injection of Yamal’s direct running and Oyarzabal’s movement created gaps in a Saudi defence that had impressed against Uruguay. In midfield, Pedri and Rodri dictated the tempo, while full-backs Porro and Cucurella pinned Saudi Arabia back. The performance was Spain’s most complete of the tournament so far.

Calm within the camp

Ahead of kick-off, centre-back Aymeric Laporte had pointed to Spain’s 32-match unbeaten run as a source of belief despite the opening frustration. The squad’s response on the pitch backed up that confidence, and de la Fuente later described the win as a return to the team’s identity.

“After the first match we were annoyed, as you have to be, but we also know we’ve gone 32 games without losing and that gives us ambition.”

Saudi Arabia’s goalkeeper under fire

Mohammed Al Owais, the hero of Saudi Arabia’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, was unable to repeat his heroics. Spain’s relentless movement pulled the Saudi backline apart, and Al Owais, playing in his country’s second division, was beaten four times despite several sharp stops. The defeat leaves the Asian side needing a result in their final group match to have any chance of progressing in the expanded 48-team tournament.