Oyarzabal, decisive substitute at Wembley in a busy international day

Mikel Oyarzabal once again stood out, this time as a decisive substitute at Wembley. Rested at kick-off by Luis de la Fuente, who opted to start an in-form Ferrán, the Real captain gave Spain a 3-2 victory over England in the closing stages.

In a difficult match for Spain, Oyarzabal beat Trafford with a chipped finish, a move that proved decisive. He played 35 minutes in this first Nations League match. He was the leading figure of an international day that featured four matches on Saturday, following another played the previous night.

In the same group as Spain, Luka Sucic made the best possible start to Bilic’s tenure as Croatia coach. Starting in the 2-1 win in the Czech Republic, he played 63 minutes. The players wearing numbers 10 and 24 will meet on Tuesday in the txuri urdin derby.

Job Ochieng was the first to play. Starting for Kenya against Eritrea at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium, the winger could not prevent a 1-1 draw, secured by the hosts late in the game. Playing on the left with the number 19 shirt, he was substituted in the 64th minute with the score at 0-1. His replacement, Omondi, set up Ogam in the 88th minute for the equaliser.

For Ochieng, the result has limited significance in qualification terms: Kenya are one of the hosts of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and are therefore already qualified, despite playing this phase in a group that also includes Guinea and South Africa. His international schedule will be shorter than that of the others: he will play only once more, away to Guinea on Thursday 1, and will therefore be able to return to Zubieta before the other internationals.

Orri Óskarsson, meanwhile, did not have the start he wanted on international duty. As captain, the forward completed the opening match in his Nations League League C group, which ended in a 1-1 home draw against Estonia. His side pressed until the end but could not find a winner, having also seen their opponents miss a penalty.

Óskarsson was thus able to get playing time he had not been receiving in recent matchdays with Real. He will travel to Luxembourg on Tuesday 29 for the second matchday. Suspended for the game against Deportivo on Sunday 11, he is under no pressure to return to Donostia, a situation that could lead him to play more than expected across the four scheduled matches.

According to the reported information, Eloy Nebreda of Real C made the best possible debut for Cuba’s senior team, scoring as a starting winger in the away rout of Grenada in Group C of the CONCACAF Nations League B. Cuba play again on Monday, at home to Bonaire.

Two Real players have yet to feature during the break: Yangel Herrera and Aramburu are due to play Venezuela’s first friendly on Monday in Japan against Kubo, who already played on Thursday, in the txuri urdin derby scheduled for 12:25.