By Mark Gleeson

ATLANTA, June 21 (Reuters) - Amin Jamal didn't take long to remind everyone why many considered him a key player in Spain's World Cup campaign, but after making his first start since April in Sunday's 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, he was back on the bench again.

The 18-year-old is suffering from a hamstring injury and it was uncertain whether he would be included in Spain's starting lineup for their second Group H match, after missing out on the team's disappointing goalless draw with Cape Verde in their opening game of the tournament.

But coach Luis de la Fuente included him in his starting lineup on Sunday, after comparing his "genius" earlier this week to the creativity of Salvador Dali or Michelangelo, and Jamal quickly got to work after frustrating weeks of being sidelined.

Jamal dribbled past Saudi player Salem Al-Dawsari and sent a powerful cross from the right side in the first 30 seconds of the match. He launched his first shot four minutes later, and in the tenth minute he was in the right place at the far post to convert a cross from Mikel Oyarzabal into the net, scoring the first goal.

Oyarzabal added two more goals by the 24th minute, which relieved Jamal for the rest of the first half, who was content with a few dribbles from the right side and tried to shoot some balls at the goal, but he showed some laxity when Oyarzabal gave him another great opportunity to score in the 19th minute, as he was not ready for it.

Jamal's appearance during the pre-match warm-up excited the fans in the stands, who numbered 69,000 and were wearing Spanish national team jerseys with his name on them.

But with the end of the first half, his brief appearance came to an end, as De La Fuente sought to conserve his strength for another match, with Uruguay being the next opponent in the Valley of the Stones on Friday.

It took some time for the crowd to realize that the coach had substituted Jamal, and shouts of discontent rose when the substitution was confirmed on the giant screens at Atlanta Stadium.

The Spanish national team coach said, "We would have used him for a longer period if we needed to, but the situation was under control and we considered his contribution to be sufficient."

He added, "We could have kept him in the game, perhaps even until the end, but now he's back in good physical condition."