Luis de la Fuente said he wanted a new jumper for his birthday but this was even better. On the day that the Spain coach turned 65, his players gave him the perfect afternoon in Atlanta, all the doubts from their opener blown away. Unable to find a way through in 97 minutes here against Cape Verde, this time they put three past Saudi Arabia before anyone had even stopped for the first drink. Life is there to be enjoyed, Lamine Yamal had said and they did.
Lamine scored ten minutes into his first start since suffering a hamstring injury in April and Mikel Oyarzabal added two more in the first quarter. By the end it was four and it could hardly have worked out more nicely, Spain’s victory secured so early that the coach could use the occasion to offer opportunities to those that needed them, Mikel Merino and Nico Williams invited to join the party too. De la Fuente said that Spain wanted to be Spain again, and here they were.
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