Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Lamine Yamal made a goalscoring return for Spain as the European champions got their World Cup campaign back on track with a 4-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Yamal, 18, opened the scoring after just 10 minutes of the Group H game in Atlanta to put La Roja on course for a comfortable victory against an outclassed Saudi team. Spain had been determined to bounce back after being held to a shock 0-0 draw by lowly Cape Verde in their opening game last week, when their much-vaunted attack drew a blank.
But with teenaged starlet Yamal making his first start in two months since recovering from a hamstring problem, Spain launched an early onslaught that left the Saudis reeling. Yamal ghosted in at the back post to tuck away Mikel Oyarzabal’s low cross before Oyarzabal scored twice in three minutes to leave Spain 3-0 up after just 24 minutes. Spain bagged their fourth goal on 49 minutes when Marc Cucurella’s shot was saved by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais, only to bounce off defender Hassan al-Tambakti into the net.
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Spain coach Luis De la Fuente said his squad had been fuelled by criticism of their opening performance. “When someone questions your work, it is only human that anyone with courage and pride reacts to prove people wrong,” said De la Fuente. The win leaves Spain on top of Group H with four points after two matches. Cape Verde will attempt to join the Spaniards on four points later Sunday when they face Uruguay in Miami, with coach Pedro Leitao Brito, known as “Bubista”, vowing his team will play “without fear.”
“We didn’t come just to take part. We want to play all the matches and to be able to show that we have the level to take on the best teams in the world,” he added. “Our aim is to play all the games with courage, in an organised way but also without fear.”
In Los Angeles, meanwhile, Belgium are still waiting for their first win after being held to a 0-0 draw by Iran in Group G. The Red Devils, who also drew with Egypt in their opening game, finished the game with 10 men and struggled to break down a resolute Iranian side despite dominating possession. For the second Iran game running, protesters from Los Angeles’ large Persian exile community gathered at the stadium to chant against the country’s hardline regime.
Inside the stadium, Iran’s anthem again drew a chorus of boos and whistles — a reception at odds with the response to the players themselves, who were loudly cheered. Iran’s Mehdi Taremi had the ball in the net from a clever first-half free-kick that was ruled out by VAR, while Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy was sent off after the break for hauling down the striker following a mis-hit backpass. The result means all three games so far in Group G have ended in draws. With just two points from two games, Belgium will be targeting a big win against the World Cup’s lowest-ranked team, New Zealand, in their final group game in Vancouver on Friday.
On Saturday, Germany booked their place in the knockout rounds with a dramatic injury-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast. It is the first time since 2014 that Germany have made it out of the group stage. Germany’s victory was made even sweeter later on Saturday as Curacao — the smallest country by population ever to qualify for the World Cup with just 160,000 inhabitants — dug deep to secure a shock 0-0 draw with Ecuador in Kansas City that ensured the Germans will win Group E with a game to spare.
In Houston, the Netherlands stayed firmly on course for qualification with a 5-1 demolition of Sweden in Group F. Japan are level on four points with the Dutch after cruising to a comfortable 4-0 victory over Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico, in Saturday’s late match — the 1,000th game in World Cup history.
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