Football greats hail Mikel Oyarzabal after Saudi Arabia masterclass | OneFootball

Mikel Oyarzabal delivered two goals and an assist against Saudi Arabia, propelling Spain to three points and drawing praise from the game’s biggest names. The Real Sociedad captain moved level with Fernando Morientes on 27 goals for the national team.

After a quiet opener against Cape Verde, when he did not touch the ball in the first 30 minutes, the Gipuzkoan responded by setting up Lamine Yamal before striking twice, all inside half an hour. He also became the second player on record since 1966 to be involved in three goals within the first 25 minutes of a World Cup match, after Hungary’s László Fazekas against El Salvador in 1982. Speaking on Fox Sports, Thierry Henry said Oyarzabal appeared unstoppable.

Henry highlighted the forward’s precise movement, perfect timing and clinical finishing, calling a World Cup brace in under 10 minutes a ruthless return. He added that Spain look dangerous, and that Oyarzabal in particular seems impossible to contain at present.

Zlatan Ibrahimović, on the same programme, argued modern football’s spotlight can overlook graft, saying Oyarzabal did the hard yards by running, creating space, pressing and sacrificing for the team. He suggested that if the same display came with Lamine on the back of his shirt, it would be framed as Ballon d’Or calibre.

Spain’s record scorer David Villa also applauded Oyarzabal’s centre-forward work, wished him well and hoped he keeps scoring to take Spain to the final. Across his last 13 Spain appearances, Oyarzabal has 14 goals and seven assists.

Source: Diario Vasco