ATLANTA — Lamine Yamal scored on his return from injury as Spain defeated Saudi Arabia, 4-0, on Sunday to claim its first victory of the FIFA World Cup and move to the top of Group H.
Yamal, making his first start in two months after recovering from a hamstring injury, opened the scoring in the 10th minute to end Spain’s wait for its first goal of the tournament.
Mikel Oyarzabal added two goals as Spain built a 3-0 lead within 24 minutes. Saudi Arabia defender Hassan al-Tambakti later scored an own goal to complete the rout.
“We had to recover good feelings, correct a few things from the last game, but we need to keep improving if we want to achieve our target of getting to the final on July 19,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said.
The victory lifted Spain to the top of Group H after Cape Verde held Uruguay to a 2-2 draw.
Spain entered the match seeking its first win after opening the tournament with a scoreless draw against World Cup debutant Cape Verde.
De la Fuente made four changes to his starting lineup, bringing in Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena.
Spain broke through when Oyarzabal sent a low cross into the box that Yamal converted at the far post.
Oyarzabal doubled Spain’s lead after converting Aymeric Laporte’s flick-on from a corner kick.
Three minutes later, the Real Sociedad forward scored again, volleying home a header from Olmo for his 14th goal in his last 13 appearances for Spain.
Oyarzabal nearly completed a hat trick before halftime, but his shot from a tight angle struck the crossbar.
With Spain firmly in control, De la Fuente substituted both Yamal and Oyarzabal at halftime.
“Had we had a different result, he (Yamal) would’ve played for longer but given the result and that the match was under control, we considered his contribution was enough for us to have him in the next game,” De la Fuente said.
Spain continued to press in the second half and scored its fourth goal when Marc Cucurella’s shot rebounded off Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais and deflected into the net off Tambakti.
De la Fuente also gave winger Nico Williams and midfielder Mikel Merino playing time as they continue their return from injuries.
Saudi Arabia, which drew 1-1 with Uruguay in its opening match, now faces Cape Verde in Houston in its final group-stage game. A victory could send the Arabian Falcons to the knockout stage for the first time since the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Spain will face Uruguay in Guadalajara on Friday in its final Group H match.
