Oihan Sancet Explained

Oihan Sancet Tirapu (born 25 April 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team.

Club career

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Sancet joined Athletic Bilbao's youth setup from CA Osasuna in 2015.^[2] On 18 June 2018, he was called up to pre-season with the first-team by manager Eduardo Berizzo.^[3]

Sancet made his senior debut with the reserves on 25 August 2018, starting and opening a 2–0 Segunda División B home win against CD Tudelano.^[4] In early September he suffered a knee injury (a tear to his left anterior cruciate ligament),^[5] returning to action the following March.^[6]

For the 2019–20 season, Sancet was included in the main squad by manager Gaizka Garitano.^[7] He made his professional and La Liga debut on 16 August 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute for Óscar de Marcos in the 1–0 home victory over FC Barcelona.^[8] On 27 June – his sixth league start – he scored his first goal in a 3–1 defeat of RCD Mallorca also at San Mamés.^[9] By December 2020, he had reached sufficient milestones to trigger a €150,000 development payment to Osasuna.^[10]

On 3 January 2022, Sancet scored a hat-trick to help his side come from behind at Osasuna to win 3–1.^[11] It was the first hat-trick in the league scored by an Athletic player since Aritz Aduriz in 2016,^[12] with Sancet the youngest scorer of three in a match for the club since Julen Guerrero in 1994 and the first from Navarre to do so for any club against Osasuna,^[13] as well as being the first goals he had scored for the senior team away from Bilbao.^[12]

On 3 February 2023, Sancet scored three times in a 4–1 home win over Cádiz CF.^[14] In April, he extended his contract until 2032.^[15]

In the 2024 Copa del Rey final against Mallorca, Sancet scored Athletic's equalising goal at the start of the second half. His side went on to win the trophy via a penalty shootout.^[16]

International career

Sancet earned his first cap for Spain at under-21 level on 10 October 2019, in a 1–1 friendly draw with Germany held in Córdoba.^[17] He played all the matches for the runners-up at the 2023 UEFA European Championship, scoring in the 5–1 semi-final defeat of Ukraine.^{[18] [19]}

In October 2023, Sancet received his first call-up to the senior team for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers with Scotland and Norway.^[20] He made his debut as a substitute against Scotland in Seville, and scored the second goal of a 2–0 win four minutes from time (described initially as an own goal by Ryan Porteous in some reports).^{[21] [22]}

Career statistics

Club

Club!rowspan="2"

Season	League			Copa del Rey		Europe		Other		Total
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bilbao Athletic	2018–19	Segunda División B	10	1	—		—		—		10	1
	2019–20	Segunda División B	14	6	—		—		1	0	15	6
	Total		24	7	—		—		1	0	25	7
Athletic Bilbao	2019–20	La Liga	17	1	2	0	—		—		19	1
	2020–21	La Liga	24	2	2	0	—		0	0	26	2
	2021–22	La Liga	27	6	4	0	—		2	0	33	6
	2022–23	La Liga	36	10	5	0	—		—		41	10
	2023–24	La Liga	30	4	8	2	—		—		38	6
	2024–25	La Liga	12	7	0	0	3	1	0	0	15	8
	Total		146	30	21	2	3	1	2	0	172	33
Career total			170	37	21	2	3	1	3	0	197	40

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sancet goal.^[21]

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

• Copa del Rey

2023–24^[16]

• Supercopa de España

2021^[23]

Spain U18

• Mediterranean Games

2018^{[24] [25]}

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2023^[19]

Notes and References

1. News: Sancet. Diario AS. 8 March 2022.
2. Web site: Oihan Sancet cadete de Osasuna fichará por el Athletic. Oihan Sancet Osasuna's cadete will sign for Athletic. La Cantera de Lezama. Javi. Martín. es. 25 June 2015. 12 August 2018.
3. News: Sancet, de 18 años, hará la pretemporada con el primer equipo. Sancet, aged 18, will make the pre-season with the first team. El Correo. Juanma. Mallo. es. 18 June 2018. 12 August 2018.
4. News: 2–0: Vicente y Sancet comienzan haciendo diabluras con el Bilbao Athletic. 2–0: Vicente and Sancet start by making mischief with Bilbao Athletic. Mundo Deportivo. Endika. Río. es. 25 August 2018. 16 August 2019.
5. News: Oihan Sancet estará unos siete meses de baja por lesión. Oihan Sancet will be nearly seven months out due to injury. Diario AS. Javier. Rodríguez Beltrán. es. 3 September 2018. 16 August 2019.
6. News: Sancet vuelve tras su lesión. Sancet returns after his injury. Marca. Ander. Cotorro. es. 17 March 2019. 16 August 2019.
7. News: Larrazabal y Sancet se quedan. Larrazabal and Sancet stay. Marca. Juanma. Velasco. es. 13 July 2019. 16 August 2019.
8. Web site: Athletic Bilbao 1–0 Barcelona. BBC Sport. 17 August 2019. 17 August 2019.
9. News: Athletic shine as Mallorca's light fades. Marca. 27 June 2020. 27 June 2020.
10. News: Osasuna recibe un pellizco del Athletic por Sancet. Osasuna receives a pinch from Athletic for Sancet. Diario de Navarra. Fernando. Ciordia. es. 30 December 2020. 25 February 2021.
11. Web site: Sancet, con tres goles, da la victoria al Athletic en el derbi ante Osasuna (1–3). Sancet, with three goals, gives win to Athletic in derby against Osasuna (1–3). EITB. es. 3 January 2022. 4 January 2022.
12. News: Sancet se viste de Aduriz en El Sadar. Sancet dresses as Aduriz at El Sadar. Marca. Juanma. Velasco. es. 3 January 2022. 4 January 2022.
13. News: Golpe en la mesa con Julen Guerrero en la memoria. A stand has been taken with Julen Guerrero in memory. Deia. Arkaitz. Aramendia. es. 4 January 2022. 21 February 2022.
14. News: Ante la crisis, el mazo de Sancet. Against crisis, Sancet's mallet. Diario AS. Alfonso. Herrán. es. 3 February 2023. 4 February 2023.
15. News: Oihan Sancet anuncia que renueva con el Athletic hasta 2032. Oihan Sancet announces he renews with Athletic until 2032. Deia. Arkaitz. Aramendia. es. 1 April 2023. 2 April 2023.
16. News: Athletic 1–1 (4–2) Mallorca, en directo: final de Copa del Rey 2024 Celebración del Athletic, campeón de Copa. Athletic 1–1 (4–2) Mallorca, live: 2024 King's Cup final Celebrations of Athletic, Cup champions. Diario AS. Mario. Reinoso del Real. es. 7 April 2024. 7 April 2024.
17. News: España empata ante Alemania (1–1) en El Arcángel y mantiene su idilio de invicta en Córdoba. Spain draw against Germany (1–1) at El Arcángel and continue undefeated spell in Córdoba. ABC. Javier. Gómez. es. 10 October 2019. 4 January 2022.
18. Web site: España golea a Ucrania y se clasifica para la final del Europeo sub-21 (5–1). Spain rout Ukraine and qualify for under-21 Euro final (5–1). Infobae. es. 5 July 2023. 10 July 2023.
19. Web site: England U21 1–0 Spain U21. BBC Sport. Alex. Howell. 8 July 2023. 10 July 2023.
20. Web site: Oficial Lista de convocados para los partidos clasificatorios frente a Escocia y Noruega. Official Squad for qualifying matches against Scotland and Norway. Royal Spanish Football Federation. es. 6 October 2023. 8 October 2023.
21. News: España-Escocia: La selección española no falla en Sevilla (2–0). Spain-Scotland: Spain national team do not fail in Seville (2–0). Diario de Sevilla. es. 12 October 2023. 12 October 2023.
22. Web site: Spain 2–0 Scotland. BBC Sport. Scott. Mullen. 12 October 2023. 13 October 2023.
23. Web site: Acta del partido celebrado el 17 de enero de 2021, en Sevilla. Minutes of the match held on 17 January 2021, in Seville. Royal Spanish Football Federation. es. 24 January 2021.
24. Web site: Cambios en la convocatoria de la Sub-18 para los Juegos del Mediterráneo. Changes in the Under-18 call-up for the 2018 Mediterranean Games. Royal Spanish Football Federation. es. 5 June 2018. 5 June 2021.
25. Web site: 3–2. Un triplete de Abel Ruiz baña a España en oro. 3–2. Abel Ruiz triple bathes Spain in gold. EFE. Ginés. Muñoz. es. 30 June 2018. 4 January 2022.