SPAIN reignited their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion on Sunday as teenage sensation Lamine Yamal inspired a commanding victory over Saudi Arabia, while Iran boosted their hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time with a hard-fought draw against 10-man Belgium.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that both matches carried major implications for the group standings, with Spain responding strongly after a frustrating opening draw and Iran producing a resilient display to frustrate one of Europe’s traditional football powers.
For Spain, the victory marked their first win of the tournament after the 2010 world champions were held to a disappointing goalless draw by Cape Verde in their opening Group H fixture. Yamal had come off the bench in that match but was unable to inspire a breakthrough.
As widely anticipated, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente restored the Barcelona teenager to the starting line-up against Saudi Arabia, and the 18-year-old immediately justified the decision.
Just 10 minutes into his first World Cup start, Yamal opened the scoring after meeting Mikel Oyarzabal’s low cross at the far post. The delivery from the left evaded Saudi defender Hassan Al Tambakti before Yamal tapped home to become only the second player aged 18 or younger—after Pele in 1958—to score the opening goal in a World Cup match.
Rather than settle for a narrow advantage, Spain continued to pour forward and quickly tightened their grip on the contest.
Oyarzabal doubled the lead after Saudi Arabia failed to clear a corner, with the Real Sociedad forward finishing low past goalkeeper Mohammad Al-Owais. Just three minutes later, he struck again, sweeping home Dani Olmo’s flick-on at the far post to effectively end the contest before halftime.
The Spanish forward nearly completed a first-half hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining before the break, only to see his effort crash against the crossbar after intercepting a misplaced pass from Al-Owais.
Despite withdrawing both Yamal and Oyarzabal at halftime, Spain’s dominance remained unaffected as De la Fuente’s side continued to dictate proceedings throughout the second half.
Three minutes after the restart, Marc Cucurella’s powerful effort was initially saved by Al-Owais, but the rebound struck Al Tambakti and rolled into the net to make it 4-0.
Spain eased off thereafter but still created further opportunities. Substitute Ferran Torres came close to extending the lead after being played through on goal, while Saudi Arabia managed only one effort on target, with Abdullah Al Hamdan testing the goalkeeper with 10 minutes remaining.
Torres later thought he had added a fifth goal deep into stoppage time, but a lengthy VAR review ruled the effort out for offside.
The comprehensive victory places Spain firmly back in contention for qualification after a slow start to their campaign.
Iran Frustrate Belgium As Beiranvand Delivers Goalkeeping Masterclass
In another key World Cup encounter, goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand produced a series of outstanding saves as Iran secured a valuable point against Belgium, keeping alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time in the country’s history.
The 33-year-old was the standout performer, repeatedly denying Belgium’s attacking stars throughout the contest.
During the first half, Beiranvand made several impressive stops, including a sharp save at his near post to keep out Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans.
His finest moment arrived five minutes into the second half when he produced what many may consider one of the saves of the tournament, diving brilliantly across goal to deny Maxim de Cuyper’s low strike.
News Point Nigeria gathered that Belgium’s challenge became significantly more difficult in the 66th minute when defender Nathan Ngoy was sent off for a professional foul on Mehdi Taremi.
The dismissal made Ngoy the youngest player to receive a red card at a World Cup since 2014 and left Belgium chasing a breakthrough with 10 men.
The result leaves the 2018 World Cup semi-finalists facing the real prospect of failing to advance from the group stage for only the second time in the last 28 years after recording a second consecutive Group G draw.
For Iran, however, the outcome represented another milestone.
The draw marked the first time the nation had avoided defeat in its opening two matches at a World Cup. It also came despite logistical challenges that have seen the Iranian squad allowed to fly into the United States only a day before each fixture.
The first half lacked quality despite Belgium dominating possession and registering 11 attempts on goal.
The Red Devils thought they had been punished midway through the opening period when Mehdi Taremi finished off an expertly worked free-kick routine, but the goal was ruled out for offside following an extended VAR review.
It was the fourth consecutive World Cup match in which Belgium had failed to score before halftime.
Belgium emerged after the break with greater urgency and came close to taking the lead in the 58th minute when Kevin De Bruyne produced a magnificent touch and cross for Brighton defender Maxim de Cuyper. However, Beiranvand responded with another exceptional save to preserve parity.
Iran refused to be overwhelmed and created chances of their own.
Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, making a record-breaking 17th World Cup appearance for his country, was called into action to deny Taremi what would have been his first goal of the tournament.
By the final whistle, Iran had secured a hard-earned draw and another piece of World Cup history, with the result marking only the third time in 11 World Cup matches that the Asian nation had avoided defeat against European opposition.