Spain soon found their scoring boots for their second World Cup game on Sunday, easily beating Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Group H with Lamine Yamal kicking off the party and Mikel Oyarzabal scoring twice.
The 2010 champions had been held to a frustrating draw by minnows Cape Verde in their opening encounter last Monday but wasted little time breaking down Saudi defences with Yamal sliding home at the back post to tuck away Oyarzabal's cross in the 10th minute.
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Mikel Oyarzabal, who was criticised for not touching the ball at all in the first 30 minutes of the Cape Verde game, not only provided the assist for Yamal, but scored two more goals — in the 21st and 24th.
Spain's lead was so dominant by halftime that Yamal and Oyarzabal were both taken off before the start of the second half. An own goal from Hassan Altambakti aggravated the score for Saudi Arabia early in the second half.
Birthday present for the coach
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.
A huge cheer greeted Yamal's first touch, twisting and turning his marker before playing a teasing cross which was cleared by Abdulelah Alamri, the scorer of Saudi Arabia's goal in their 1-1 with Uruguay.
The opening goal came with Oyarzabal sending an inviting ball across the box and Yamal was there sliding in at the back post to score his first World Cup goal.
Having toiled in vain in their opening game, the goal relaxed Spain, who began to carve open the Saudi defence at will, and the second goal came from a corner.
Dani Olmo sent the ball back into the mix which the Saudis failed to clear and Aymeric Laporte nodded down to Oyarzabal who bundled the ball into the net.
Three minutes later, Spain were in again with a beautifully worked goal. Pedro Porro floated a pass into the area and the ball never touched the ground until it found the net.
Marc Cucurella's hooked pass found Olmo who headed into the six-yard box for Oyarzabal to tap-in on the volley, as the striker proved that given the right service, he is Spain's man to deliver.
Williams returns from injury
Spain replaced Yamal and Oyarzabal for the second half, but picked up where they left off when the Saudi goalkeeper blocked Cucurella's volley from a corner and the ball ricocheted off defender Hassan Altambakti and into the net.
Nico Williams and Mikel Merino were afforded valuable minutes off the bench in the second period as they too get up to match speed after lengthy absences due to injury.
The European champions continued to create chances, but understandably took their foot off the gas on a day when even Vozinha, Cape Verde's 40-year-old hero keeper, would have struggled against this version of Spain, who look back to their best.
De la Fuente had warned that his players were "stung" by the criticism they faced following their opening result – and they responded emphatically.
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The win puts Spain on 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.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
