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For most of her international career, which began ten years ago at the age of 19, Oyarzabal has not lost much of her fame.
He has been ruled out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
But four years later – and before his first World Cup – he was in the prime of his career, scoring 12 goals in 12 internationals.
The double against Austria took his tally to 17 in the last 16 of the tournament with four goals in the competition.
“The last two seasons have been the best of his career since he recovered,” added Balague.
“Four goals in the World Cup – our most important player, without a doubt.”
Spain played without a recognized striker at Euro 2012, but Oyarzabal became the centerpiece of their attack with two excellent finishes against Austria.
Former Spain defender Cesar Azpilicueta told BBC One: “Sometimes people have doubts about Spain at centre-forward but Oyarzabal is doing the job.
“A few years ago, Oyarzabal was playing a bit on the right wing and moved to the middle.”
Since the start of last year, the only European player to have scored more international goals than Oyarzabal is Norwegian striker Erling Haaland with 22 goals.
He became the first Spanish player to score twice in a World Cup play-off since Emilio Butragueno in the last 16 against Denmark in 1986.
The statistics are very impressive, but it does not mean that he is overshadowed by Lamin Yamal, the 18-year-old played a key role in being able to shine in Oyarzabal.
The Barcelona forward’s excellent ball control and dribbling skills allowed Oyarzabal to create more space for Oyarzabal by drawing the Austrian defenders towards him without losing clear defences.
“When you have someone like Lamin Yamal in your team who gets a lot of attention, you know you’re going to get a lot of space,” said former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitsperger.
“Oyarzabal took advantage of that position, got the ball and scored goals.”
