Oyarzabal comes off the bench to win it for Spain at Wembley

The September and October international window keeps rolling for Real Sociedad's players, with a packed Saturday of fixtures. The biggest headline belonged to Mikel Oyarzabal, who came off the bench at Wembley and hit the winner as Spain beat England 2-3 in their opening Nations League match.

• Oyarzabal came on as a substitute and scored the decisive 2-3 with a trademark chip over Trafford in the closing minutes.
• Luka Sucic started for Croatia in a 1-2 win away to the Czech Republic, in the same group as Spain.
• Job Ochieng started for Kenya in a 1-1 home draw against Eritrea in Nairobi.
• Orri Oskarsson played the full 90 minutes as Iceland captain in a 1-1 draw with Estonia.
• Eloy Nebreda, from Real Sociedad C, scored on his senior debut for Cuba in a rout of Grenada.

Oyarzabal plays the super-sub role once again at Wembley

Luis de la Fuente chose to rest the Real Sociedad captain from the start and gave an in-form Ferran Torres the nod. Spain struggled to find rhythm at Wembley and found themselves in a tight contest against an intense England side. With the game on a knife edge, the coach turned to the San Sebastian native, who responded with a finish straight from his personal playbook: a measured chip over Trafford that sealed the 2-3 and sparked wild celebrations on the Spanish bench.

Oyarzabal played 35 minutes in Spain's Nations League opener and proved again that his influence does not depend on starting. The goal keeps Spain on track in the group and underlines his status as one of the national team's most decisive figures in big moments.

Sucic enjoys a winning start to the Bilic era with Croatia

Luka Sucic had a perfect introduction to life under new Croatia head coach Slaven Bilic. The Real Sociedad midfielder started away to the Czech Republic and played 63 minutes in Croatia's 1-2 win, a result that puts them right in the mix in the group also featuring Spain.

On Tuesday, Sucic and Oyarzabal will go head to head when Croatia host Spain in the second round of group fixtures. The two Real Sociedad team-mates will be the main story on the pitch.

Ochieng starts for Kenya in a flat home draw

Job Ochieng was the first Real Sociedad player in action during this international break. The winger, one of the rising stars of Kenyan football, started on the left flank wearing the number 19 shirt at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi. Eritrea, a modest opponent on paper, made life difficult and took the lead.

Ochieng was substituted in the 64th minute with Kenya trailing 0-1. The hosts salvaged a point late on when substitute Omondi set up Ogam to make it 1-1 in the 88th minute. The result carries little weight in qualifying terms for Kenya, who are already assured of a place at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations as one of the host nations, even though they are still competing in the qualifying group alongside Guinea and South Africa.

The Real Sociedad winger will have a shorter window than most: he only has one more game, away to Guinea on Thursday the 1st, meaning he can return to Zubieta earlier than the rest of the club's internationals.

Iceland stumble with Oskarsson wearing the armband

It was not the afternoon Orri Oskarsson had in mind. The Real Sociedad striker, captain of Iceland, played the full match in a 1-1 home draw with Estonia in the opening round of Nations League C. The Nordic side could not find a winner, and the result could have been even worse after Estonia missed a penalty that would have made the day considerably harder for the hosts.

The Real Sociedad forward got the minutes he had been missing in recent club outings under Imanol Alguacil, but could not turn them into a victory. Iceland now travel to Luxembourg on Tuesday the 29th for the second match of the group.

Oskarsson is in no rush to get back to Donostia: he is suspended for the league game against Deportivo on Sunday the 11th, which could lead to him taking on a heavy workload across Iceland's four scheduled matches during this international window.

Nebreda scores on Cuba debut as Herrera and Aramburu wait their turn

Eloy Nebreda, who plays for Real Sociedad C, could not have asked for a better senior debut with Cuba. He started on the wing and got on the scoresheet in an away rout of Grenada in Group C of the CONCACAF Nations League B. He will have another chance on Monday, this time at home against Bonaire.

Two Real Sociedad players are still waiting to make their bow in this international break. Yangel Herrera and Jon Aramburu will play the first of Venezuela's friendlies on Monday in Japan. There they will face Takefusa Kubo, who already played the first of his matches with Japan on Thursday, in a meeting of Real Sociedad team-mates that kicks off at 12:25.