Football journalist and author Guillem Balagué discusses Spain's win over Saudi Arabia as La Roja bounced back from their draw with Cape Verde in style.
When a side considered less talented beats or draws with a ‘bigger’ team, we admire the effort, tenacity and tactics of the minnows. When a famous team beats one clearly in the lower rankings, we say it was expected, undervaluing what was done to win. Make your mind up!
The truth is somewhere in the middle. Teams are so well drilled these days, and players have so many layers and such capacity to adapt quickly to a national team setup, that every win requires blood, sweat and tears. The average player has never been this good or this fit!
Spain beating Saudi Arabia was mostly down to Spain — not the weaknesses of the Saudi side, but the wave of relief, anger and happiness that made Spain unstoppable. It was a dazzling harmony. Luis de la Fuente’s team were still playing the Cape Verde game in their heads, a result that had prompted reasonable questions from the press — me included — about the team’s balance, their timid attitude, the late substitutions, and the lack of directness and precision.
Inside the camp, the analysis was similar: the team needed bite and intensity (Pau Cubarsi’s words) and width from the wingers, because Saudi Arabia were going to defend deep. Plus accuracy — De la Fuente said that himself.
At the end of the Saudi mauling, the Spain manager said he couldn’t understand why anyone would doubt a side that hadn’t lost in 33 games. The thing is, nobody really did — but it helps to have a common enemy. That’s an old story. He made four changes, so he saw what we saw: something wasn’t right.
Mikel Oyarzabal said the press shouldn’t give themselves too much importance, that the reaction was about their own disappointing display. But others — Alex Baena, for one — suggested the media had a role in the way Spain came out wanting to reaffirm their status. We feel very much part of what is going on, one way or another. Happy to be used as a stick.
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The splendid result came from a more urgent attitude, more aggression with the ball — plenty of runs in behind, constant movement — and without it. Spain are the team that wins back possession most often in the first seconds after losing it. It also came from the goals of the man who doesn’t appear on the publicity boards of big brands: Mikel Oyarzabal, one of the top six strikers at this tournament. Mbappé, Messi, Haaland, Kane, Vinícius — and Oyarzabal.
All six have the biggest influence on their respective teams, and the stats to prove it. The Basque striker — who shuns the spotlight, whose parents are his agents, who missed nine months with a cruciate injury that cost him Qatar — has delivered his best two seasons since.
In his last 13 games he has scored 14 goals and assisted seven. Despite not being at his physical peak this week, and only telling the manager the night before — in a private conversation between just the two of them — that he was ready to play, he scored twice and assisted once, all in the opening 24 minutes of a World Cup game. That had never happened in the competition.
The tactical tweaks helped too. Every pass went not to the man beside you but the one further up, accelerating the attacks. Pedro Porro added width and depth and linked well with Lamine. Alex Baena can beat a player one v one on the left, or come inside and function as a midfielder. Pedri is better playing deeper, alongside Rodri — together they gave the team real fluidity. And Dani Olmo is the perfect number 10 in this system, receiving the ball in tight spaces and either linking play or finishing moves.
But above all else, this is Lamine Yamal’s team. He walked onto the pitch as if he were strolling into a schoolyard — greeting his family in the stands, acknowledging the fans when his face appeared on the big screen. He made the first dribble, took the first shot, scored the first goal, and dictated the team’s rhythm. He even stopped two Spain counter-attacks — partly because it was the right call, partly because he was running on empty, which is why he came off at half time.
Then he did some physio work, returned to the pitch with 15 minutes of the second half gone, and did it all wearing gold chains. Spain have not lost in 22 games with him in the starting line-up: 16 wins, 6 draws. The biggest stage is his.
So, America, Spain has landed! Or, as Ian Dennis put it on the BBC 5 Live coverage — we are flying.
