Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up in the 23rd minute, sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, and suddenly the golden boot conversation has a new name right at the front of it. Spain drew first blood against France at World Cup 2026 — and the man holding the pen is a Real Sociedad forward who has quietly become the tournament's most clinical finisher.
Lucas Digne's foul gave the referee no choice. Penalty to Spain. Oyarzabal placed the ball, took his run-up, and did what he has been doing all tournament — scored. His finish was clean, unhurried, exactly the kind of penalty you convert when you already have four goals behind you and the pressure is supposed to feel heavier.
Foot Mercato reported the Digne foul as the catalyst, but what followed was entirely Oyarzabal's doing.
Five goals at a World Cup is a number that gets you mentioned in the same breath as the tournament's elite. Oyarzabal sits among the leading scorers at World Cup 2026 with five goals — a tally that places him firmly in the golden boot conversation heading into the business end of the competition. He has been the quiet engine of Spain's attack throughout: not the loudest name in the squad, not the one the pre-tournament previews were built around — but the one who keeps finding the net when it matters.
This fixture needs no inflation. Spain against France at a World Cup, in the business end of the competition, is exactly the kind of match the tournament exists to produce. Spain have been building momentum throughout the competition; France arrived with the weight of expectation they always carry. A 23rd-minute penalty changes the shape of everything — the pressure shifts, the game opens, and the team chasing suddenly has to take risks.
The full-time result was not available at the time of writing, but Oyarzabal had already made his mark on the occasion.
He looked at the ball for a long moment before placing it on the spot. He did not look nervous.
Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up in the 23rd minute, sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, and suddenly the golden boot conversation has a new name right at the front of it.
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