Lamine Yamal Makes World Cup History As Spain Thrash Saudi Arabia

Spain got their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign back on track in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, inspired by teenage star Lamine Yamal, who became the nation’s second-youngest World Cup goalscorer.

Lamine Yamal, 18, scored after just 10 minutes in Atlanta, sliding home at the far post from a precise delivery by Mikel Oyarzabal to hand Spain an early lead.

The goal saw Yamal enter the Spanish record books at 18 years and 343 days old. Only Gavi was younger when he scored for Spain at a World Cup, finding the net at 18 years and 110 days during Spain’s 7-0 win over Costa Rica in November 2022.

Spain, held to a disappointing draw by Cape Verde in their opening match, dominated from the outset and doubled their advantage in the 21st minute. Saudi Arabia failed to clear a corner and Oyarzabal reacted quickest inside the box to score.

Three minutes later, the forward scored again. Meeting a flick-on from Dani Olmo, Oyarzabal finished from close range to make it 3-0 before the midway point of the first half.

Saudi Arabia’s problems deepened shortly after the restart. A powerful effort from Marc Cucurella was saved by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, but the rebound hit off defender Hassan Al Tambakti and into his own net in the 49th minute.

The result could have been even heavier. Substitute Ferran Torres thought he had added a fifth goal deep into stoppage time, only for VAR to rule it out for offside after a lengthy review.

Saudi Arabia’s frustrations were reflected in yellow cards shown to Salem Al Dawsari and Mohamed Kanno, while the Green Falcons struggled to contain Spain’s relentless attacking pressure throughout the match.

The victory extends Spain’s unbeaten run to 12 matches and significantly boosts their hopes of topping the group after the opening setback. Qualification hopes for Saudi Arabia now rest on securing a positive result against Cape Verde in their final group match.