2 hours ago
9
Key events
73 min: De La Fuente looks on, stone-faced. Job done on his big birthday. His squad is so full of talent, and has shown that Cape Verde might just have been an aberration. Spain lost their first game of the 2010 World Cup by losing to Switzerland.
72 min: Pam gets in touch: “Enjoying the MBM. Keep up the good work. Re Justin Kavanagh’s 59th minute comment: Vozinha and Cape Verde on the other hand can channel MLK verbatim “I had a dream.””
Will it continue in Miami?
71 min: Spain change: Pedri has gone off, as Fabian Ruiz arrives, not a bad replacement to have.
70 min: Kari Tulinius gets in touch: “This match reminds of two prior World Cup matches involving Saudi Arabia, an 8-0 loss to Germany in 2002 and a 5-0 loss to Russia in 2018. While both teams went on to do well, they weren’t as impressive as the result suggested. It feels crazy to think that about this Spanish side, but that’s how I feel watching them. Germany got to the final in 2002, so Spain shouldn’t worry too much what I think.”
69 min: Here’s the boos, as it’s a hydration break. For the Saudis, just over 20 minutes to go of being sat in the dentist’s chair.
67 min: The Saudis are sat in back four now, bit still sat as deep as the Marianas Trench. Now that Williams is on, they have retreated yet deeper.
66 min: Unai Simon watches the ball drift over him to Porro. He could have played this game in a Mickey Mouse costume and got away with it.
65 min: What a ball from Merino but Ferran Torres cannot make the best of it. He has a couple of ghosts to bury from the Cape Verde near-calamity.
64 min: Peter Oh returns: “I’d also like to request statistics on Adidas Trionda bursts. Could this ball be the new King of Pop?”
62 min: Spain subs: Merino and Nico Williams replace Baena and Dani Olmo. For the Saudis, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat has come on, as has Alaa Heji, Al Amri and Al-Burakain are the two going off.
60 min: Spain’s possession is more sterile in that first half. There’s a concern as Rodri takes a bashing from Kanno, who is booked, though it looked a complete accident.
59 min: Justin Kavanagh gets in touch: “Nice to read of Rodri indulging his Uruguayan dreams. On that note, I think most of these overrun Saudis will look back on their visit to the home of Martin Luther King Jr., and reflect “I had a nightmare.”
57 min: Spain will have their eyes on Uruguay now. They play Cape Verde later in Miami. Just £420, those.
55 min: The Saudis are looking to their final match now. That’s against Cape Verde, in Houston, and a quick ticket check suggests you can be there for a mere £336.
54 min: Nigel in Toronto is looking for a statistician: “Hi, John, I agree with Andre Street. Does someone know how many shots have gone high compared to previous World Cups at this stage?”
Any answers?
53 min: Pedro Porro, playing like a winger, bursts into the space that was once Yamal’s, chasing Cubarsi’s pass and will have hoped to do rather better with the shot.
51 min: Rodri gets in touch, and is feeling pessimistic: “As many Uruguayans, I didn’t expect us going further than R32, (no way of us beating Argentina nowadays). But after Spain first game, I naively dreamed that if we could get a better goal difference and tie the last game, when Spain might be saving legs, we could top the group. And then, with a lot of luck, we could even go far... As they say, dreaming is free. They also say it’s the hope that kills you, but it was nice while it lasted. Now, back to reality and Sunday house cleaning (not a metaphor about the Uruguayan squad, but the actual chores).”
50 min: Cucurella accepted the applause but that’s yet another OG at the World Cup.
Goal! Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia (Al-Tambakti, 49 OG)
The corner drifts to the back post, and Cucurella smashes a volley, off Al Owais and Tambakti deflects in, unable to stop it rolling in.
48 min: Has Pedri taken a knock? He soldiers on having ridden a strong tackle that concedes a corner.
47 min: No hat-trick for Oyarzabal, then, and Yamal has had his runout, and scored his first World Cup goal, too.
Back underway in Atlanta
46 min: Two Spain subs: Oyarzabal and Lamine Yamal off, and Yeremy Pino, Ferran Torres on. For the Saudis, Al Juwayr off, as is Abdullah Al-Khaibari, and on comes Abdullah Al-Hamdan and Mohamed Kanno.
That first half belonged to Mikel Oyarzabal, though Alex Baena has impressed. Victor Munoz, the new Liverpool buy, is missing with an injury.
Andre Street gets in touch: “That ball, I read someplace it was popping. But is it inflated with helium?” Lot of shots flying high, that’s for sure.
Half-time: Spain 3-0 Saudi Arabia
In truth, Spain have left some goals behind despite their commanding lead. Yamal has his first goal and Mikel Oyarzabal has got two. The Saudis have been chasing shadows and must be grateful there’s air con.
45+3 min: A Saudi counter, and it’s Yamal who chases down Al Harbi, who made another of those long runs from deep. Then Rodri has to hoof clear.
45+2 min: Rodri gets time to turn and pass. The Saudis are getting tired, and that’s a bad sign. They are gasping for another break.
45-1 min: Gene Solario gets in touch: “Spain fan says thank you for no Gavi. He’s feisty and very annoying to play against but he’s also horrible to watch.”
Well, I like him.
45 min: The corner is a disaster, a terrible waste taken short and then into the path of Yamal whose touch lets him down. Five minutes added on, by the way.
44 min: Baena runs back to clear danger as the Saudis mount a rare attack. He celebrates like a lock forward who has won a rugby penalty. Next, Cubarsi has to conced a corner.
42 min: Rodri is strolling his way back to fitness. Nice workout for him. Yamal seems a tad rusty, too, after those early flashes. Oyarzabal is full of beans, and smashes the ball off left when kicking with his right, after Pedri’s pass.
40 min: Good replay of a Lajami tackle that Dani Olmo rode. The Saudis can mix it, byt are wanting when it comes to the technical stuff.
39 min: Krishna gets in touch: “Is the hegemony of 7-1 scoreline by Germany at threat or am I too liberal in assuming that the hosts of 2034 will score one?”
38 min: So far in the second quarter (I know, I know but blame Fifa), the Saudis have held on. Though the pressure is being pushed back up, and it’s taking every cell of concentration to keep the score down.
37 min: Lamine Yamal has been among the quieter Spanish players in recent moments but reappears by firing wide.
36 min: Oyarzabal almost has his hat-trick, turning and spinning to hit the bar. It will surely come.
35 min: Simon has a save to make, as Al Amri decides to shoot from 70 yards out. It drifts to the keeper’s arms.
34 min: Al Harbi has had a good game as an attacking player, if he has suffered at the feet of Yamal. A good run there, before Cubarsi coolly brings the excitement to a close.
32 min: A Saudi attack sees the ball going backwards, as Spain press hard. To be fair, the ball is retained though with little attendant danger. Laporte eventually gets it, and it’s back with Simon, who could have taken the day off and nobody would have noticed.
31 min: Pedri’s radar is failing him so far. Though you can’t keep a good player down. No Gavi today, one of those players whose physique belies their aggression.
30 min: Dani Olmo shows off twinkling toes, and the ball is cleared. Pedro Porro gets on the wrong end of a tackle by Salem Al Dawsar. It seems harsh. Porro’s agony doesn’t seem too prolonged, and the resumption is quick.
28 min: We’re back on. The Saudis will have savoured their Powerade. The punishment will resume.
26 min: Ezra Finkelstein gets in touch: “What a change of efficiency for Spain from the opening round. Yamal sure does make a difference.”
Peter Oh: “How about a hydration final whistle?”
25 min: Talk about answering your critics. Oyarzabal is on a hat-trick as drinks are taken in the ad break…
Goal! Spain 3-0 Saudi Arabia (Oyarzabal, 24)
Cucurella and Olmo keep the ball in the air, and at the back post, the striker gets his second. The game is done by the hydration break.
22 min: It was Laporte, stepping forward with little defending to do, who kept the ball alive for the striker to score. Saudi defending? The less said the better. Punch drunk already.
Goal! Spain 2-0 Saudi Arabia (Oyarzabal, 21)
Lajami makes a fine recovery tackle on Oyarzabal but the Saudi defending is far less good as the striker, from the corner, picks up the pieces of Dani Olmo’s shot, and pokes home.
20 min: Justin Kavanagh gets in touch: “AAAAGGGH! I made the mistake of flicking on the match on Fox, who have by now practically deified Lamine Yamal as one of the all-time greats. He done a goal, lads, he’s not yet Maradona or Messi. Right, back to Telemundo, where at least they have fun with the over exaggeration and don’t take their own hype so seriously.”
19 min: Cubarsi begins a sweeping move, and Oyarzabal’s run is intelligent, though his ball back across goals finds no takers. Yamal shows off his work ethic by chasing down Al Harbi to the goal line as if admitting he should have been on the end of the previous move.
17 min: Yamal bobs and weaves and aims his pass for Olmo. Al Owais saves well though is less comfortable with Oyarzabal shoots from distance. A busy afternoon so far for the Saudi keeper.
16 min: Saudi players take their time over a free-kick. They need to catch their breath. Spain have been relentless from the first whistle.
15 min: Spain can kill this off with better shooting. Baena is the latest to be wildly off-target.
13 min: It should have been two, Yamal shoots, and Pedri calls for the ball as the rebound comes out, and blams it miles over. Oyarzabal with more no-touch genius; he steps aside for the midfielder.
12 min: Not a bad first touch for Oyarzabal, and Yamal didn’t have to do anything spectacular. The celebrations were more complicated. In the celebs box, Gianni Infantino smiles.
Goal! Spain 1-0 Saudi Arabia (Lamine Yamal, 11)
The boy comes to the party. It’s route-one stuff, but lovely play for Oyarzabal, and at the opposite post, Yamal slides in to score.
10 min: Cucurella is essentially playing as a winger, and so is Pedro Porro, who smashes another shot off-target. Birthday boy De La Fuente does a jig of agony.
