Luis de la Fuente labeled Mikel Oyarzabal “underrated” and “a very complete player” after his performance in Spain’s 2-0 win against Georgia.
The European champions took the lead in their final World Cup qualifier through Yeremy Pino, before Oyarzabal doubled their lead with a powerful free-kick after Ferran Torres’ missed penalty.
The Real Sociedad striker has now directly contributed to ten goals for La Roja in 2025, with only Erling Haaland (15) registering more goal involvements for a European national team this calendar year.
De la Fuente had to deal with the absence of players like Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Dean Huijsen, but he was pleased with how his team performed on Saturday, especially Oyarzabal.
“He is a very complete player. Completely. He does everything well,” De la Fuente said of Oyarzabal.
“When he plays up front he does well, with runs between the lines… He is the same on the wings, with attacks on the left. He interprets every game situation. Yes, he is underestimated.”
Appreciation post: THIS MAN IS AMAZING.
| 2-0 | 73’#Maspñana | #CopamundIFIFA pic.twitter.com/eXyrhb2Zta
— Spain men’s football team (@SEFutbol) October 11, 2025
“Fortunately, I will have to make decisions. We have a great youth academy and players for the future.”
“It is a source of pride, [the absences are] nothing to worry about. If you have any doubts, football will solve them itself. I’m lucky. Today we saw other players.”
Georgia are third in Group E, three points behind second-place Turkiye midway through the qualifying campaign.
They were completely dominated in proceedings on Saturday, conceding 24 shots while Spain had 82.8% possession.
Although Willy Sagnol was disappointed with his side’s attitude, he was quick to praise Sapin for their performance.
“We can say we were very lucky to only lose 2-0, but it’s not just a matter of quality. I saw some attitudes on the pitch that I hadn’t seen before and I didn’t like them,” Sagnol said.
“We could talk about Spain all night. What we saw is the result of what Spanish football has done over the last twenty to twenty-five years.”
“They have started to produce very intelligent players. If you look at Pedri, he is so light that he can be blown away when it is windy, but he is one of the best midfielders in the world because he is very smart and always puts the team first.”
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