ATLANTA (AP) — After much criticism. world cup debutSpain’s Mikel Oyarzabal returned to Atlanta Stadium with a vengeance on Sunday.
Oyarzabal on Monday became the first player since 1966 to not register a touch in the first 30 minutes of a game. world cup Match.
Almost a week later, the 5-foot-11 forward found a new home in the record books with two goals and one assist against Spain. 4-0 rout The Saudi player became the second player in World Cup history to score or assist three goals in the first 25 minutes of a match. He is the first to achieve this feat since Hungary’s László Fazekas in 1982.
Spain national team coach Luis de la Fuente said after the game, “Mikel’s influence on the team is immeasurable, probably more than any other player in the world.” “I’m sure he’s a player who can really make history in Spanish football. His numbers are crazy. So I praise his performance and I hope we can evaluate him properly.”
His assist, deep cross to the 18-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamalhelped Spain set the tone early on with a goal at the 10-minute mark. Oyarzabal then scored two goals three minutes apart in the 21st and 24th minutes, giving Spain a 3-0 lead going into halftime.
Oyarzabal played 45 minutes and had five shots, three of which were on target.
Oyarzabal has been through ups and downs in his ups and downs in his World Cup debut, including Sunday’s accomplishment.
“At the end of the day, this is an anecdote,” Oyarzabal said after the game. “I don’t put too much emphasis on it. It is what it is. I’m happy that I scored a goal and I was able to help the team. One way or another, I always try to do what’s best for the team.”
The 29-year-old from Eibar may not have been interested in adding to his record books, but rewriting the reputation of the Spanish national team was his priority after Monday’s performance.
“When things don’t go well, when things don’t go your way, you criticize yourself and you look inward to try to improve. We knew we could do much better than we did the other day,” he said. “I was looking forward to turning it around. It was very important to start on the right foot and that’s what happened.”
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AP Sports Writers James Robson and Tails Azzoni contributed to this report.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
