{"id":183725,"date":"2026-06-21T16:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=183725"},"modified":"2026-06-21T16:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:30:38","slug":"lamine-yamal-scores-first-world-cup-goal-as-spain-thrash-saudi-arabia-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=183725","title":{"rendered":"Lamine Yamal scores first World Cup goal as Spain thrash Saudi Arabia | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div class=\"post-label post-label--large\"><a class=\"post-label__link\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\" aria-label=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/fifa-world-cup-2026\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-label__image\" height=\"22.5\" width=\"222.75\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Post-Label-Image-Option-1-1780213226.png?fit=396%2C40&amp;quality=80\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"World Cup 2026 post label\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Yamal makes a goal-scoring return for Spain as European champions get their World Cup campaign back on track.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Inspired by \u200cLamine Yamal, Spain strolled to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/liveblog\/2026\/6\/21\/spain-vs-saudi-arabia-live-world-cup-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">4-0 win over Saudi Arabia<\/a> in Group H, as Mikel Oyarzabal \u2060restored his reputation with two goals and Luis de la Fuente\u2019s side found their groove after an underwhelming World Cup opener.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Yamal opened the scoring in the 10th minute on Sunday and Oyarzabal, \u2060who failed to register a touch in the opening half hour in Monday\u2019s scoreless draw with Cape Verde, scored twice in quick succession as Spain had the game wrapped up by half-time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">An own goal shortly \u2060after the interval failed to reopen the floodgates, as Spain used the opportunity to make changes and rest their scorers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">De la Fuente celebrated his 65th birthday in style, and Yamal, whose only football in the last two months came as a substitute against Cape Verde, sparked life into the team that returned to Atlanta Stadium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A huge \u200ccheer greeted Yamal\u2019s first touch, twisting and turning his marker before playing a teasing cross that was cleared by Abdulelah Al-Amri, the scorer of Saudi Arabia\u2019s goal in their 1-1 match with Uruguay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The opening goal came with Oyarzabal sending an inviting ball across the box, and Yamal being there to slide in at the back post and score his first World Cup goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Having toiled in vain in their opening game, Spain relaxed after the goal, and began to carve open the Saudi defence at will, and the second \u2060goal came from a corner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Dani Olmo sent the ball back into the mix, and after the Saudis failed to clear it, Aymeric Laporte nodded down to Oyarzabal, who bundled the ball into the net.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Three minutes later, Spain were in again with a beautifully worked goal. Pedro Porro floated a pass into the area and the ball never \u2060touched the ground until it found the net.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Marc Cucurella\u2019s hooked pass found Olmo, who headed into the six-yard box for Oyarzabal to tap it in on the volley, \u2060as the striker proved that given the right service, he is \u2060Spain\u2019s man to deliver.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Spain replaced Yamal and Oyarzabal for the second half, but picked up where they left off when the Saudi goalkeeper blocked Cucurella\u2019s volley from a corner and the ball ricocheted off defender Hassan Al-Tambakti and into the net.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The European champions continued to \u200ccreate chances, but understandably took their foot off the gas on a day when even Vozinha, Cape Verde\u2019s 40-year-old hero keeper, would have struggled against this version of Spain, who look back to their best.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Spain \u200cadvance \u200cto four points in the standings, while Saudi Arabia stay on one after two games each. The other teams in the group, Cape Verde and Uruguay, meet later on Sunday in Miami.<\/p>\n<p>Oyarzabal said he was happy to get the win and to have given his own performance after criticism of how he played against Cape Verde.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not about proving myself. I\u2019ve always said I feel loved by my teammates, the coach, the staff day to day. That\u2019s what counts for me,\u201d he told the media.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople will talk outside. We know how the football world works, but we have to stay relaxed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yamal said it was a \u201cdream\u201d to score in a World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI watched the last World Cup from a classroom, so being able to score here with my mum and my family in the stands is a dream come true,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/6\/21\/spain-thrash-saudi-arabia-as-lamine-yamal-off-mark-at-world-cup-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yamal makes a goal-scoring return for Spain as European champions get their World Cup campaign back on track. Inspired by \u200cLamine Yamal, Spain strolled to a 4-0 win over Saudi&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":183726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/reuters_6a380fd4-1782058964.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":180790,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=180790","url_meta":{"origin":183725,"position":0},"title":"Spain vs. Cape Verde LIVE: World Cup 2026 updates as title favourites take on tournament debutants &#8211; espn.in","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"June 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Spain vs. Cape Verde LIVE: World Cup 2026 updates as title favourites take on tournament debutants\u00a0\u00a0espn.inSpain vs Cape Verde LIVE, FIFA World Cup 2026\u00a0\u00a0The HinduSpain player ratings vs Cape Verde: La Roja lost without Lamine Yamal! 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