Spain bounced back from their Cape Verde draw to put four past Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

In a dominant display, Lamine Yamal ($10.0m) showed his quality, while Mikel Oyarzabal ($8.1m) scored twice, assisted once and hit the woodwork, before both were substituted at half-time.

We reflect on Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia in our Scout Notes, featuring match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.

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SPAIN 4-0 SAUDI ARABIA

• Goals: Yamal, Oyarzabal x2, Al Tambakti (own goal)
• Assists:  Oyarzabal, Laporte, Olmo, Cucurella
• Shot on target bonus: Oyarzabal
• Tackle bonus: Al Shamat
• Top points scorers: Oyarzabal (15), Laporte (12), Cucurella (10), Olmo (8), Yamal (7), Porro (7)

TEAM STATS

PLAYER STATS

SCOUT NOTES

• Spain had just too much quality for Saudi Arabia, which is backed up by the underlying numbers. Luis de la Fuente’s men ended the match with 67% possession, 2.87 expected goals (xG) compared to 0.14, and a shot count of 22 to 3.
• De la Fuente made four alterations to the team that laboured to a draw with Cape Verde, with Yamal, Dani Olmo ($7.7m), Alex Baena ($6.0m) and Pedro Porro ($5.5m) promoted to the side. Marcos Llorente ($5.5m), Fabian Ruiz ($6.8m), Gavi ($6.5m) and Ferran Torres ($7.8m) dropped to the bench.
• Sharp from the off, it took Yamal just 10 minutes to score, when he poked home Oyarzabal’s cross to finish at the back post.
• Oyarzabal not only assisted Yamal’s opener but scored twice himself. He was inches away from a first-half hat-trick, too, when he hit the woodwork.
• With Uruguay to come in Round 3, on paper, Spain’s toughest opponents, Yamal and Oyarzabal were withdrawn at half-time. De la Fuente is clearly taking care of his star man, Yamal, as shown below.

“If the result had been different, he would have played more. He’s capable of playing longer, but we determined, given the score as it was, practically decided, although we obviously had to keep working hard during the second half, that his contribution was what we needed for the next match, to have him available for the full duration of the game, as we should. But it was important for him to gain that confidence, that peace of mind. He looked good. He finished the first half very happy. It’s a source of great joy, as I told you yesterday, that he’s back, that he’s in perfect condition, just like Nico [Williams], and that makes us all very happy, because what we want is to have all 26 players available.” – Luis de le Fuente on Lamine Yamal, via Futbol Fantasy

• Oyarzabal was also subbed off at the break. It was later revealed he had suffered a “little problem” in the build-up to this clash.

“Well, look, Mikel, since we can’t tell you everything, had a little problem this week, and we even had doubts about whether he’d be able to play. Mikel is a rock, incredibly tough, and last night, after his treatment and our conversation, he told me, ‘I’m in.’ And we went for him. But that’s what I mean, that many times in football you have to make decisions that are, in another context, risky. That’s football. There are players who tell you, ‘I’m going, I’m fine, I’m going,’ and then things happen or they don’t, but Mikel has been great, and we felt at that point that it was time. If the score hadn’t been so settled, we probably would have had to play him longer. But we felt it was time to give him a break, a rest, and also give Ferran [Torres] some time, because we need Ferran at his best.” – Luis de le Fuente on Mikel Oyarzabal, via Futbol Fantasy

• After half-time, Spain’s intensity dropped, but they still found time to add a fourth, when Marc Cucurella’s ($5.1m) volley was saved, before the ball cannoned off Hassan Al Tambakti ($4.5m) and into the net.
• Torres later netted in stoppage time, but it was ruled out for offside.
• In addition to the goals, Spain’s defence impressed, with a second clean sheet of the tournament the icing on the cake for La Roja.
• As above, Nico Williams ($7.8m) didn’t start here but did play the final 30 minutes off the bench, as he continues to build up his match fitness.
• Saudi Arabia were under constant pressure and failed to lay a glove on Spain. Unai Simon ($5.0m) was called into action only once, when he got down to save a low shot from Abdullah Al Hamddan ($4.9m).
• Spain will play Uruguay in Round 3, as they attempt to top the group, while Saudi Arabia will meet Cape Verde. All four nations can still qualify, ensuring line-ups will be strong in the final round of group games.