Luis de la Fuente said he wanted a new jumper for his birthday but this was even better. On the day that the Spain coach turned 65, his players gave him the perfect afternoon in Atlanta, all the doubts from their opener blown away. Unable to find a way through in 97 minutes here against Cape Verde, this time they put three past Saudi Arabia before anyone had even stopped for the first drink. Life is there to be enjoyed, Lamine Yamal had said and they did.

Lamine scored ten minutes into his first start since suffering a hamstring injury in April and Mikel Oyarzabal added two more in the first quarter. By the end it was four and it could hardly have worked out more nicely, Spain’s victory secured so early that the coach could use the occasion to offer opportunities to those that needed them, Mikel Merino and Nico Williams invited to join the party too. De la Fuente said that Spain wanted to be Spain again, and here they were.

The coach introduced four changes to the starting XI and a shift in structure too, a 4-2-3-1 replacing the 4-3-3 that drew 0-0 with Cape Verde. Pedro Porro, Alex Baena and Dani Olmo all made a huge impact; so too did the man, the boy, they had all been waiting for. Lamine Yamal, the 18-year-old that the Spain coach had likened to Salvador Dali and Michelangelo, a “genius” for whom the extraordinary is normal, started his first game since April. He wasn’t going to get 90 minutes, and nor did he need to. Forty-five were enough, withdrawn to fight another day.

This was already done by half-time. In fact, it had been for a while: Spain were 3-0 up inside 24 minutes, and it had begun at Lamine Yamal’s feet. They had only been out there 41 seconds when his Cruyff turn saw him escape Salem Al-Dawsari who he then sent tumbling. That was the first of three key moments from the teenager, the expectation rising with every touch, intent in all of them. He got on the ball more times than anyone in the first five minutes and had scored the opening goal inside ten.

“Life is to be enjoyed,” Lamine Yamal had said, and that sentiment was contagious. Lamine Yamal certainly wasn’t alone; if anything Spain actually cut through Saudi Arabia even more on the left, which was where the opener came from. Álex Baena’s neat pass with the outside of the boot set Oyarzabal away and he played the ball all the way across the six-yard box. Lamine Yamal arrived, sliding in, at the far post to score. Running to the corner, skidding on his knees, first he celebrated and then he put his head on the turf and prayed. Only one player had ever scored the opening goal at a World Cup younger and that was a guy called Pelé.

The pass had been perfect and Oyarzabal was just getting going. The striker who had not had a touch inside the first half an hour against Cape Verde had an assist and two goals inside 24 minutes here.

The first of the two goals came when Saudi Arabia made a mess of a corner and Aymeric Laporte leapt to provide clarity in the chaos, nodding down for him to finish from close range. The next arrived less than two minutes later and offered a glimpse of Spain’s ambition, seen in how high the full-backs were. Pedro Porro’s curling cross found Marc Cucurella at the far post who side-footed it back in and, as if they were playing headers and volleys, Dani Olmo headed on for Oyarzabal to score. All that without letting the ball bounce. Three-nil and the World cup favourites were healing.

Oyarzabal might have scored a third as well, a glorious shot with the outside of his foot curling back off the bar with Mohammed Al-Owais out of his goal. There was also a volley just before half-time. Two goals would have to do before he was withdrawn at the break, his work done again. No one talks about Oyarzabal, especially not Oyarzabal, but they should: that’s 14 goals and seven assists in his past 13 Spain games now.

Spain had racked up seventeen shots and still they came. There was no panic, everyone had insisted after the disappointment of the opening game, but De la Fuente admitted that they had been “stung”: provoked by the criticism, there was a point to prove and this was some way to prove it. With Pedri facing the game, Olmo finding spaces where there are none, and Rodri controlling, pass count going well past 100, the dominance was total: Spain’s possession was over 70% and it was with a purpose. We want to say ‘here we are’,” Laporte said, and they were everywhere.

There was even the sight of Lamine Yamal sprinting back sixty yards to break up a rare dash up field from Saudi Arabia, led by Al-Dawsari just before half-time. Tired now, it was his last service here; it won’t be his last at the tournament which, amid the concerns over his injury, is even more important. Spain didn’t stop. Another corner badly defended saw Cucurella volley in the fourth, via a deflection which had him holding up his hands in recognition that it was actually a Hassan Al-Tambakti own goal.

The changes came, Pedri and Baena after Lamine Yamal and Oyarzabal off. Merino and Williams came on to take another step towards rehabilitation as the game drifted happily towards the end. A brilliant ball from Williams almost saw Yéremy Pino score a fifth with nine minutes left and then Ferran Torres had the ball in the next in stoppage time. After a long wait, the video assistant referee took that away, but De la Fuente had everything he could have wished for already. Happy birthday, boss.