Without Lamine Yamal, Mikel Oyarzabal Would Be

TBILISI, SUNDAY — The Spanish national team arrived at Georgia's home ground, the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, on Sunday (16/11/2025) at midnight WIB, without their best player, Lamine Yamal. However, this was not a problem for "La Roja." Mike Oyarzabal has further proven himself to be the most clinical player in Spain's attacking line at present.

Oyarzabal scored Spain's first and final goal to thump Georgia 4-0. The brace came from a penalty in the 11th minute and a well-placed header from inside Georgia's penalty area in the 23rd minute.

Two other goals for Spain were contributed by Martin Zubimendi (22’) and Ferran Torres (34’), who capitalized on assists from Oyarzabal. This result makes Spain very strong in the competition of Group E in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The team coached by Luis de la Fuente has won all five matches. They have scored 19 goals and are one of two teams that have not conceded any goals in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The other team is England in Group K.

Three points from Tbilisi have already helped Spain take a step closer to the 2026 World Cup. However, the impossibility of the situation has caused them to fail to qualify directly for North America next year. Spain must suffer a 0-7 defeat to Turkey in the final match on Wednesday (19/11/2025 WIB).

A crushing defeat is impossible. This is because Spain will host Turkey at their home ground, the Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville. It is not Turkey, but rather Spain that has a greater chance of scoring seven goals against Turkey. This refers to the last meeting between the two teams in Konya, where La Roja triumphed with a score of 6-0.

The competition that is not yet fully closed in Group E is based on Turkey's 2-0 victory over Bulgaria. A penalty goal by captain and midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu in the 18th minute, followed by an own goal from Bulgarian central defender Atanas Chernev in the 83rd minute, ensured that Turkey's hopes of usurping the top position in Group E are not entirely extinguished, although they will need a significant miracle in the final game.

Despite the competitive nature of Group E, Spain proved to be surrounded by underrated talent, often underappreciated. Oyarzabal, for example, has consistently been cast in the shadows by Yamal and even Nico Williams.

In fact, Oyarzabal is the most important player for the team coached by La Fuente during 2025. Since taking over the main center forward position from Alvaro Morata in the second leg of the Euro Nations League quarter-finals against the Netherlands on March 23, Oyarzabal has not stopped contributing goals for La Roja.

Overall, approaching the final match of the year, the captain of Real Sociedad has already produced eight goals and six assists in the last eight matches with the national team. No other player can rival Oyarzabal's central role.

Entering the ninth year representing the Spanish national team, starting from his debut match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 29, 2016, Oyarzabal's role has fully transformed. He was initially known as a versatile winger skilled at playing on both the left and right sides.

Now, the 28-year-old player has established himself as the new interim number nine in Spain. The role of the center forward has been absent from the La Roja squad for a long time since the golden generation with David Villa and Fernando Torres at the end of the 2000s.

In Tbilisi, Oyarzabal was the player closest to the Georgian defense. A heatmap of his movements during his 71 minutes on the pitch reveals that Oyarzabal's dominant movement was in the home team's penalty area.

This is certainly different from Morata's role, which is more of a deep-lying forward, creating space for the two wingers and midfielders. Oyarzabal's primary role as a poacher is to finish off chances.

The two goals he scored came from only three shots taken. This demonstrates his sharpness. On the other hand, Oyarzabal's contribution to the Spanish game was very low as he only made seven accurate passes.

Oyarzabal was delighted to contribute to the team's victory. He stated that goals aren't his primary criterion when playing for the Spanish national team.

"I'm happy to help the team, because we each have to do our part. If I can help with a goal, that's great. If not, the most important thing is that I played a role in the team's victory," said Oyarzabal, who has 50 caps for La Roja, as reported by Marca.

In addition to Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres has also achieved a new milestone in his career. He has scored a combined total of 100 goals for the national team and his club. He is currently ranked ninth among Spain's all-time top scorers.

The record of 23 goals by Torres, the Barcelona striker, is now on par with the legendary duo of Real Madrid, Alfredo Di Stefano and Sergio Ramos.

La Fuente once again proved that Spain is not a team reliant on a single star player. After being fed up with the drama presented by Barca that attracted Yamal, La Fuente was able to showcase the collective strength of La Roja, making them one of the strong candidates for the 2026 World Cup championship.

It can be imagined that Spain arrived in Georgia without several key players. For instance, Yamal, Williams, Pedri, Rodri, Robin Le Normand, Dani Carvajal, and Dean Huijsen. Nevertheless, they were still able to achieve a decisive victory and record a clean sheet.

"Losing injured players gives opportunities to other players who haven't played much in recent years. That's the fruit of Spanish football's success. All clubs contribute to producing better players, and we (in the national team) can enjoy that," La Fuente said in a post-match press conference, as quoted by Sport.

Despite performing perfectly in the qualifying round, La Fuente forbade his players from celebrating their qualification for the 2026 World Cup before the final whistle of the match against Turkey. He reminded that Spain has not yet fully qualified.

"We respect our rivals, all national teams, and Turkey. We must remain humble until we have mathematically secured our qualification," said La Fuente.