Oyarzabal Reaches Seventh Heaven

Mikel Oyarzabal does not need to seek the spotlight to leave a lasting impression. Those who know him best often highlight his composure, intelligence, and leadership—both on and off the pitch. Always understated, his influence is amplified rather than diminished by his discretion.

His football is free from unnecessary theatrics. It does not demand attention; it simply delivers. Like the most efficient predators, his greatest strength is not power or pace, but an extraordinary ability to turn opportunities into goals. The Basque forward has never needed to be the centre of attention to be decisive. Yet whenever he approaches the opposition penalty area, his most ruthless instincts emerge. There, he becomes a relentless goalscorer, capable of punishing opponents with remarkable consistency.

His two goals against Saudi Arabia represented another significant step towards immortality in Spanish football. A player trusted implicitly by Luis de la Fuente, Oyarzabal is currently enjoying the finest period of his international career and continues to climb Spain’s all-time rankings through sheer productivity.

Remarkably, just two days before the match, discomfort during training prevented him from completing the session and cast serious doubt over his availability.

Since making his international debut against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 May 2016, Oyarzabal has made 55 appearances for Spain, scoring 27 goals and providing 12 assists. Those numbers place him firmly among the most prolific players in the history of the national team.

His recent form has been particularly impressive. Over his last 13 appearances for Spain, he has been directly involved in 21 goals, scoring 14 times and contributing seven assists in little more than a year.

The arrival of Luis de la Fuente as national team manager coincided with Oyarzabal’s definitive emergence as one of Spain’s key figures. Since then, he has become by far the leading scorer of De la Fuente’s tenure, recording 21 goals and nine assists in 34 matches.

A player who consistently rises to the occasion, Oyarzabal has already written his name into many of Spain’s most memorable recent triumphs. He scored the goal that secured the UEFA Euro 2024 title in Berlin and also played decisive roles in the UEFA Nations League finals of 2023 and 2025, as well as the Olympic final in Tokyo, further cementing his reputation as a player for football’s biggest occasions.

His outstanding display against Saudi Arabia—becoming the first player in World Cup history to record a brace and an assist within the opening 24 minutes of a match—earned him FIFA’s Player of the Match award and propelled him to seventh place on Spain’s all-time scoring chart. His two goals took him past Emilio Butragueño and level with Fernando Morientes on 27 international goals.

Ahead of him remain some of the most iconic names in Spanish football history, including Fernando Hierro, David Silva, Álvaro Morata, Fernando Torres, Raúl González, and David Villa. Yet at just 29 years of age, Oyarzabal continues to write his own chapter in Spain’s footballing history and appears well placed to climb even higher.