De la Fuente’s happy 65th as Spain hit four in Atlanta | OneFootball

Spain found a new gear in Atlanta as De la Fuente turned 65, their four-goal show against Saudi Arabia driven by Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal.

According to Superdeporte, the pair started together after a flat outing against Cape Verde, when Oyarzabal went 30 minutes without a touch and Yamal’s late cameo had little effect.

Inside three minutes Yamal beat his man twice, took a shot at goal and crossed for Oyarzabal. At 10 minutes he opened the scoring from Oyarzabal’s cross, the Real Sociedad captain then adding two more inside 24 minutes. Spain had never scored three in 24 minutes at a World Cup.

His urgency had a reason beyond the cameras and the gaze of peers such as Mbappé, Messi and Vinicius. Assistant Juanjo González revealed he had only 45 minutes, and Saudi Arabia were startled by his repeated surges.

Yamal did not reappear after the break due to two months out following an April muscle injury, and Oyarzabal was also withdrawn. Oyarzabal has moved into Spain’s top 10 scorers and has delivered 11 goals and 6 assists across Spain’s last 10 matches, numbers that have most pleased De la Fuente.

Source: Superdeporte