Mikel Oyarzabal: Spain's humble hero ready to outshine Cristiano Ronaldo in World Cup clash
By
Mark Doyle
2d ago· 6 min readenInsight
Summary
This article profiles Mikel Oyarzabal, the Spanish forward who scored the winner in Euro 2024 and has emerged as an unlikely Golden Boot contender at the 2026 World Cup. It contrasts his humble, down-to-earth personality with the superstar persona of Cristiano Ronaldo, ahead of Spain's crucial World Cup showdown with Portugal. The piece highlights how Oyarzabal, despite lacking the global fame of players like Mbappe, Messi, or Ronaldo, has consistently delivered goals for Spain and could steal the spotlight in the high-stakes match.
Source
Twitter / XMikel Oyarzabal: Spain's humble hero ready to outshine Cristiano Ronaldo in World Cup clashgoal.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledOyarzabal really does look like the odd man out in the race to finish as the tournament's top-scorer.
It was Oyarzabal who scored Spain's winner in the Euro 2024, while he was also on target in five of his country's World Cup qualifiers.
His down-to-earth demeanour is in stark contrast to his opposite number, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mikel Oyarzabal has shown at the 2026 World Cup what he can do in front of goal, with his down-to-earth demeanour in stark contrast to his opposite number, Cristiano Ronaldo, ahead of Spain's meeting with Portugal
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