Mikel Oyarzabal makes World Cup history for Spain, achieving what Raúl Gonzalez and David Villa never did

The Spanish forward, despite the criticism, has etched his name into history after his performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Spanish football has found one of its defining figures of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mikel Oyarzabal, whose performances are already earning a place in the tournament's history.

The Real Sociedad forward scored twice in Spain's 3–0 Round of 32 victory over Austria, becoming the first Spanish player since Emilio Butragueño to score a brace in a World Cup knockout match.

"El Buitre" famously struck four times in Spain's 5–1 victory over Denmark at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, delivering one of the greatest individual performances in Spanish World Cup history at Estadio Corregidora in Queretaro.

Oyarzabal's match-winning display in Spain's biggest test of the tournament not only sent La Roja into the Round of 16, but also reignited the debate over whether he should have been included in the World Cup squad at all, following the criticism that surrounded his selection before the tournament.

The 28-year-old has also achieved a rare milestone. Before this tournament, David Villa and Fernando Morientes were the only Spanish players to score multiple World Cup braces, but both accomplished the feat in the group stage and across different editions of the tournament. Oyarzabal has now matched that achievement in a single World Cup, having also found the net against Saudi Arabia earlier in the competition.

LEGENDS WHO FELL SHORT

Across different generations, several iconic Spanish forwards were unable to score a World Cup knockout-stage brace despite their importance to the national team, including:

Raul Gonzalez, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Morientes, Alfredo Di Stefano, Juanito, Julio Salinas, and Diego Costa.

All of them left a lasting legacy with crucial goals and standout careers for Spain, but none achieved this specific milestone in World Cup knockout stages. With his brace, Oyarzabal joins a very select group and further strengthens his status as one of Spain’s key attacking leaders at present.