June 22, 2026
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Mikel Merino played 30 minutes as Spain got their first win of the World Cup with a 4-0 crushing of Saudi Arabia.

Following on from a disappointing draw with Cape Verde in the first round of group games, La Roja got back on track with a first-half blitz against the Asian outfit.

Lamine Yamal got the scoring underway before a double from Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain 3-0 up inside 25 minutes.

Hassan Altambakti then put through his own net in the second half before the introduction of Merino for his 45th Spain cap.

David Raya and Martin Zubimendi remained as unused substitutes as Spain moved to the top of Group H following Cape Verde and Uruguay’s 2-2 draw.

Spain now face the Uruguayans in their final group game at Estadio Guadalajara on Saturday, June 27 at 1am UK time.

SECOND DRAW FOR LEO

While Merino’s Spain got their first three points, a victory still eludes Belgium and Lenadro Trossard.

Leo played the full 90 minutes as the Red Devils played out a 0-0 draw with Iran in Los Angeles.

Our winger was the brightest spark for Belgium, who went down to 10 players in the second half following Nathan Ngoy’s dismissal.

The Belgians, who are second in the group behind Egypt, will now take on New Zealand in their final group game on Saturday, June 27, at 4am UK time.

WHO PLAYS TODAY?

Arsenal supporters can now turn their attentions towards Group I today as two of our stars could feature.

First up, William Saliba’s France face Iraq in Philadelphia at 10pm UK time. Wilo helped Les Bleus to a 3-1 victory over Senegal in their first match.

Then, into the early hours of Tuesday morning, it’s the turn of our skipper, Martin Odegaard, as Norway face Senegal.

Martin provided an assist in Norway’s first match, a 4-1 victory over Iraq, and will be looking to confirm their spot in the round of 32 with a victory in New York.

Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.

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