Spain crushed Saudi Arabia 4-0 in their Group H encounter at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday to bounce back from their disappointing opening day result in resounding fashion.
The European champions were held to a shock 0-0 draw by debutants Cape Verde last week and came into tonight’s fixture in Atlanta needing a big performance. And a big performance they delivered.
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Lamine Yamal opened the scoring for them in the 10th minute with a finish from close range before Mikel Oyarzabal fired a double in a gap of just three minutes as Spain led 3-0 inside the opening 25 minutes of the match.
Their dominance continued after the break as Marc Cucurella forced an own goal from Hassan Altambakti with a powerful strike off a corner for 4-0 less than five minutes of the restart. The Reds appeared to have struck a fifth in stoppage time through Ferran Torres, but he was deemed to be in an offside position following a careful VAR review.
Nonetheless, a big win for Spain who picked up their first win of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and made a strong case to progress into the round of 32 as group winners. Here are the player ratings for Spain.
Spain Player Ratings
Unai Simon – 7/10
A spectator for much of the clash as all the action unfolded at the opposite end. He might as well have pulled up a deck chair and enjoyed the show.
Pedro Porro – 7/10
Porro really wanted to get on the scoreshoot today, didn’t he? He got forward well but lacked the cutting edge with his finishing, though he drew a strong save from Al-Owais in the second half. He appeared to have finally scored for Spain in added minutes, but it was ruled out for offside.
Pau Cubarsi – 7/10
Cool, calm, and composed to emerge as a reliable figure at the back for Spain. He was also instrumental in building up attacks from the back with his excellent distribution skills.
Aymeric Laporte – 7.5/10
His pass selection was always on point and registered over a 90% completion rate, too, as Laporte also bagged the assist for Oyarzabal’s first goal.
Marc Cucurella – 7.5/10
Another fine display on the left by Cucurella, who is giving Real Madrid fans plenty of reasons to be excited about his arrival. The little dynamite was involved in creating the second goal for Spain and then forced the own goal from Altambakti after the break with a powerful strike off a corner.
Dani Olmo – 7.5/10
A wayward finish early on saw him blaze an effort into the stands, but he somewhat made up for it by setting up Oyarzabal for Spain’s second of the evening.
Rodri – 8/10
He absolutely dominated the midfield. Everything Spain did flowed through Rodri, who was commanding in possession and relentlessly hounded Saudi players off the ball.
Pedri – 7.5/10
Yamal and Oyarzabal combined superbly for Spain’s first goal, but it was Pedri who started the counter by heading Saudi custodian Mohammed Al-Owais’ kick ahead. Minutes later, he had got onto the end of a loose ball inside the box and attempted to score himself, but applied too much power on it to blaze the shot into row Z.
Lamine Yamal – 8/10
The Spanish prodigy terrorized Saudi on the right with his nimble-footwork, dancing his way around his markers to hook a cross across the goal. He also netted Spain’s first of the evening by running at full pelt to connect with Oyarzabal‘s cross with a sliding attempt near the post. Fuente took him off at the break as a precautionary measure to avoid aggravating his recent injury.
Mikel Oyarzabal – 9.5/10
What a whirlwind of a first-half from the Real Sociedad talisman: assisted Yamal for Spain’s opening goal and then struck a quickfire brace to effectively put them out of Saudi’s sights. He, too, was subbed at the interval, denying him a chance at a World Cup hat-trick.
Alex Baena – 7.5/10
His attacking instincts were absolutely spot on, picking out passing lanes early and reading movements quickly as Baena was involved in all three first-half goals for Spain.
Substitutes
Ferran Torres – 6.5/10
Dragged a good chance wide in the 65th minute when he only had Al-Owais to beat.
Yeremi Pino – 5/10
Replaced Yamal at half-time and rarely got involved.
Mikel Merino – 6/10
He created that chance for Torres, which the forward wasted.
Nico Williams – 6.5/10
A nice outlet on the left.
Fabian Ruiz – 6/10
Replaced the omnipresent Pedri and kept the ball moving for Spain.
Edited by Vignesh Raja