Before the 2026 World Cup took place, Lamine Yamal was the most expected name in the Spanish national team squad. However, after 4 matches from the group stage to the round of 32, the most shining person was Mikel Oyarzabal, a true "popular star".
In La Roja's journey to win EURO 2024, the Real Sociedad striker scored the goal to seal the 2-1 score in the final against England. Looking broader, Mikel Oyarzabal not only knows how to score in important matches, he also scored many times and had countless assists under the reign of Luis de la Fuente. In the last 16 starts for the national team, the 29-year-old striker has scored 17 goals and 7 assists!
The double in the 3-0 victory over Austria in the round of 32 shows Oyarzabal's diverse skills in the penalty area. He can skillfully avoid the opponent's siege and knows how to place himself and in favorable positions to put the ball into the net.
In the early days when he was called up to the national team, Oyarzabal was associated with the "false 9" position. He often played deep to coordinate with his teammates in controlling the ball. The Sociedad striker rarely stood fixed in the opponent's penalty area, so it was very difficult to be read. Remember in Spain's 6-0 victory over Turkey in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers (September 2025), Oyarzabal had a hat-trick of assists even though he was the highest player in the attack.
Now, when gradually getting used to the role of pure center forward, Oyarzabal still does not lose his ability to connect with his teammates. Even, his scoring skills are sharper. Since the beginning of 2025, Oyarzabal has scored 16 goals for the Spanish national team. Only Erling Haaland (Norway) is the only European player to score more goals in the same period (22).
When Spain travels to the 2026 World Cup, Lamine Yamal is the star with the highest expectations. However, at this point, the number 1 position must belong to Mikel Oyarzabal with undeniable performance contribution.
Under Luis de la Fuente, Spain has not lost any matches in major tournaments (World Cup and EURO). They have won 10/11 matches and in that destructive streak, Mikel Oyarzabal has never left a disappointment.
Once again he shows how important he is to the Spanish national team. Mikel needs more recognition of his talent and I see people gradually doing that" - Luis de la Fuente shared after the victory over Austria in the 1/16 round.
In front of Spain will be Portugal in the round of 16. Remember in the 2025 UEFA Nations League final, Mikel Oyarzabal also scored when the two teams drew 2-2 in 120 minutes. Spain then lost in a penalty shootout and they are very eager to repay the opponent. On the Portuguese side, Ronaldo is a nemesis for Spain, conversely Mikel Oyarzabal is also a dangerous striker with the defense not highly rated of the "European Selecao".
The match between Portugal and Spain in the framework of the 1/8 round of the 2026 World Cup will take place at 2:00 AM on July 7 (Vietnam time), live on VTV's television and OTT systems.
