By Maryam Shuaibu
Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal will head into Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final against Argentina with an extraordinary record few footballers can match—having scored in every major final he has played as a professional.
According to FIFA, the 29-year-old Real Sociedad captain has found the net in all six senior finals of his career and now has the opportunity to extend that remarkable run when Spain take on Argentina in New York New Jersey.
The football governing body described Oyarzabal as one of the game’s most reliable big-match performers.
“When the stakes are at their highest, Spain know they can always turn to Mikel Oyarzabal,” FIFA said in a report published on Saturday.
It added that he has “scored in the six finals he has played as a professional” and is bidding to become the first Spain player to score six goals at a single FIFA World Cup.
Oyarzabal already has five goals at the 2026 World Cup, drawing level with Spanish greats David Villa and Emilio Butragueño, who each scored five goals at the 2010 and 1986 tournaments respectively.
FIFA also noted that no Spain player has ever recorded two braces at a single World Cup, another milestone already achieved by the striker during the tournament.
Although his tally of 30 international goals remains well below David Villa’s all-time Spain record of 59, FIFA said Oyarzabal has already broken the record for the most goals scored by a Spain forward in a single season with 14.
The Real Sociedad forward has built a reputation for delivering in football’s biggest matches.
His six-goal streak in finals includes strikes in two Copa del Rey finals, two UEFA Nations League finals, the UEFA Euro 2024 final and the Tokyo Olympic final.
His latest goal came in Spain’s semi-final victory over France, where he confidently converted a penalty despite goalkeeper Mike Maignan diving the right way.
FIFA described his composure under pressure as one of his defining qualities, noting that several of his goals in finals have come from the penalty spot.
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The governing body went further, saying even football icons such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Pelé, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Johan Cruyff, Gerd Müller and Eusébio cannot match his record of scoring in every professional final he has played.
Not E
Despite scoring in all six finals, Oyarzabal has not won every one of them.
His teams have lifted the trophy on four occasions, including Real Sociedad’s 2020 Copa del Rey triumph, Spain’s UEFA Euro 2024 success, the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League title and the 2025/26 Copa del Rey.
He also scored in Spain’s defeats to Brazil in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic final and to France in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League final.
World Cup Glory Beckons
Sunday’s World Cup final offers Oyarzabal another opportunity to write his name into Spanish football history.
Victory over Argentina would not only give Spain another world title but could also see the striker become the country’s highest-scoring player in a single World Cup campaign.
FIFA said that while Oyarzabal may not command the same global attention as some of football’s biggest stars, his record in finals speaks for itself.
The governing body added that, for the Spanish forward, lifting the World Cup trophy would almost certainly matter more than extending his remarkable scoring streak.