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Lamine Yamal managed in 10 minutes against Saudi Arabia what he failed to accomplish in 19 minutes coming off the bench in Spain’s first match.

A Spanish team, widely considered the favorite to win this summer, finally showed its true potential, defeating Saudi Arabia 4-0. The first half was as impressive as any seen in the tournament so far, while the second half was focused on preserving energy for the more difficult matches ahead.

This was much more the Spain we had anticipated, and the restricted capacity of Saudi Arabia to oppose is less significant giventhe mess Spain created with matters against even less formidable opponents in their previous match.

Following that goalless tie, Spain had to secure a victory and do so convincingly here. They will be pleased not to have experienced any tension whatsoever, as the outcome was already certain before the first Hydration Break.

At that point, the score was 3-0. Mikel Oyarzabal set up the first goal for Yamal, who slid in at the far post to score. Oyarzabal then netted two more goals in quick succession. He nearly completed a hat-trick with a daring lob following a poor clearance.

The extent of Spain’s control was such that neither of their key players from the first half returned for the second.

The second half was uneventful throughout the time between the mandatory own goal that every match must include for no clear reason and a lengthy VAR review to determine if Ferran Torres was offside before scoring what looked like Spain’s fifth goal. Eventually, they concluded he was. Only Ferran Torres appeared to be particularly bothered, as the prolonged delay in making the call was more frustrating than the decision itself.

The narrow win for Spain suggests they will probably have the advantage when facing Uruguay in what is expected to be a decisive match for first place in the group stage. If Uruguay manages to do what Spain failed to against Cape Verde, but without any extreme methods.

A reminder: this is significant, as the consequence of finishing second in this group is a last-32 match against the Group J winners, who are almost certainly Argentina.

Spain still faces a real danger of experiencing that outcome, but their performance in the first half has made it much less likely and, even if it happens, much less concerning.

Certainly, the fact that this match was against Saudi Arabia serves as a reminder that World Cup journeys don’t have to be ruined by initial challenges. Argentina managed to defeat Saudi Arabia in their first game four years ago. The eventual champions then went on to win their next two matches, securing first place in the group; Saudi Arabia suffered losses against Poland and Mexico, ending up at the bottom of the standings.

Spain’s victory in the 2010 World Cup started with a 1-0 loss to a Swiss team, similar to Saudi Arabia 12 years later, who also exited in the group stage even though they managed to challenge the eventual champions in their first match. Spain, just like Argentina, ultimately secured their group’s top spot.

A 0-0 tie with Cape Verde now appears to be a strong beginning in comparison to those outcomes. Particularly nowSpain once again appear to be genuine contenders for the entire prize..