World Cup 2026
09:51 PM | 21 Jun 2026
A tough night for the Greens... Spain beats Saudi Arabia 4-0 in the 2026 World Cup
Fady Mahouly
The Spanish national team achieved a major victory over Saudi Arabia, 4-0, in the match that brought them together during the 2026 World Cup.
The Spanish team started the match with clear offensive pressure, launching successive attacks from the first minutes, amid attempts by the Saudi defense and goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais to remove the danger. In the tenth minute, Lamine Yemal opened the scoring for Spain with a shot from inside the six-yard area to the right corner, after a cross from Mikel Oyarzabal following a counterattack.
Spain continued its pressure after the goal, and Oyarzabal almost added the second goal on more than one occasion, before he succeeded in scoring in the 21st minute, with a shot from inside the six-yard area to the right corner of the ground, after a header pass from Aymeric Laporte following a corner kick.
Only three minutes later, Oyarzabal returned to score Spain's third goal in the 24th minute, with a close shot from the left foot into the top right corner, after a pass from Daniel Olmo with a header.
The Saudi team tried to leave its areas, but found great difficulty in the face of Spanish pressure. In the 30th minute, Spain's possession rate reached 57%, compared to 37% for Saudi Arabia, while Salem Al-Dosari received a yellow card. Oyarzabal almost scored again in the 35th minute after a mistake by Al Owais, but the crossbar blocked the ball, before the Saudi goalkeeper intervened in front of Lamin Yamal's shot.
The last minutes of the first half witnessed a Saudi attempt through Salem Al-Dosari, who dribbled and passed, but Lamin Yamal returned defensively and cut off the ball before it reached Miteb Al-Harbi. The first half ended with Spain leading 3-0.
At the beginning of the second half, the two teams made several substitutions, with Ferran Torres replacing Mikel Oyarzabal, and Jeremi Pino replacing Lamine Yemal for Spain, while Abdullah Al-Hamdan and Mohamed Kanno participated for Saudi Arabia.
In the 49th minute, Spain scored the fourth goal after an own goal scored by Hassan Timbukti, while trying to prevent Cucurella's shot from entering Saudi Arabia's goal.
Spain then tried to add a fifth goal, but Al Owais continued his presence, as in the 53rd minute he blocked two successive shots, the first from Rodri and the second with a header from Pedro Porro. Substitute Ferran Torres also missed an opportunity in the 65th minute after he was alone with Al Owais, who closed the corners and forced him to shoot outside the goal.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia tried to reduce the result, but it did not succeed in posing a clear threat. In the 81st minute, Abdullah Al-Hamdan fired the first Saudi shot in the match, but the Spanish goalkeeper blocked it. Saud Abdel Hamid also sent a cross in the 85th minute, but the Spanish defense cleared it from the dangerous area.
Spain maintained its lead until the end, winning the match with a 4-0 victory.