Spain vs Saudi Arabia: Match Preview | OneFootball

As Spain vs Saudi Arabia kicks off the second round of Group H fixtures, all four teams find themselves level on one point apiece.

Spain and Cape Verde played out their historic draw, while Uruguay and Saudi Arabia went toe to toe in a dominating display of soccer in the first round. Suddenly, Group H is completely open.

All tied up before Spain vs Saudi Arabia | Fotmob

Now, one of these teams desperately needs three points, and the winner of Spain vs Saudi Arabia will make its path to qualification significantly easier.

The First Round

Nothing in Group H has unfolded according to pre-tournament predictions.

Like many others, I expected Spain to comfortably dispatch Cape Verde and head into Matchday 2 with a healthy goal differential. That probably would have happened if not for Cape Verde’s extraordinary resilience, led by their superstar in goal, Vozinha.

Saudi Arabia was also expected to be overwhelmed by Marcelo Bielsa’s rejuvenated Uruguay. Instead, the Green Falcons produced an impressive display.

Saudi Arabia scored during the first half while Uruguay was still finding its rhythm and then defended heroically for the remainder of the game as La Celeste came out firing after halftime.

For Spain, this fixture is more about regaining pride and restoring credibility as a World Cup contender. For Saudi Arabia, they will be looking at Cape Verde’s performance against Spain and know that they too could be in the hunt for a historic point.

Spain: La Roja Needs Answers

Arriving in North America as reigning European champions, Luis de la Fuente’s side was widely viewed as one of the favorites to lift the trophy. Their squad boasts elite names in every department. Quality goalkeepers, a perfect blend of youth and experience in defense and midfield, and some of the most exciting attackers in world soccer.

Yet their opener displayed a familiar pattern that Spain have been guilty of in recent World Cup tournaments. Against Cape Verde, Spain completely dominated possession, pinned their opponents inside their own half, and created enough opportunities to win the game. But once again, their attack became predictable.

Movement inside the penalty area lacked conviction and, when chances did arrive, they were either denied by an inspired Vozinha or wasted entirely. Spain completed more than 700 passes, yet only seven shots truly troubled the Cape Verde goalkeeper.

The pairing of unorthodox wingers in Ferran Torres and Gavi took Oyarzabal out of the game, as Spain could not break the Cape Verdean low block. When opportunities finally appeared, both Ferran and Oyarzabal failed to convert them while Gavi was just a spectator.

Eventually, Spain’s midfielders resorted to long-range efforts but failed miserably in that too.

Another disappointing result would leave Spain entering its final group-stage match against Uruguay without qualification entirely in its own hands.

For a team with ambitions of becoming a two-time world champion, that is a scenario it desperately wants to avoid. A victory for Spain vs Saudi Arabia however would restore calm and put La Roja in a commanding position heading into Matchday 3.

Saudi Arabia Arrives With Confidence

Saudi Arabia travels to Atlanta believing they can compete.

The Green Falcons have developed a reputation for making life uncomfortable for soccer’s heavyweights. Their famous victory over Argentina in Qatar was already one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, and now their opening draw against Uruguay reinforced their reputation as a soft power in Asian soccer.

Against Uruguay, it was truly a game of two halves. The first belonged entirely to Saudi Arabia. The second belonged entirely to Uruguay.

Saudi Arabia understood that matching Bielsa’s side for a full 90 minutes would be nearly impossible, so it struck early and then defended for their lives after.

The Green Falcons remained compact, difficult to break down, and carried enough attacking threat to ensure Uruguay could never fully commit numbers forward. They were putting players in the right spots to block shots, and goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais had an inspiring performance as well, as he made 9 incredible saves to keep the game level.

A similar performance against Spain could earn Saudi Arabia another point and blow Group H completely wide open.

How The Teams Set Up

Spain is expected to return to its preferred attacking setup. With all the injury concerns dissipating, Spain should regain the pace and width that was badly missing against Cape Verde.

De la Fuente’s 4-3-3 relies heavily on direct wing play and you can’t win a game with Ferran Torres and Gavi as your wingers.

Rodri will do his job from deep, dictating possession while Pedri and Fabián Ruiz operate in the half-spaces. Pedri should ideally play a bit deeper this game as compared to against Cape Verde where he was box crashing.

The Green Falcons will likely defend in a compact 4-2-3-1 and attempt to crowd central areas. They are comfortable sitting deep and absorbing pressure before transitioning quickly through Salem Al-Dawsari and Firas Al-Buraikan.

Head-to-Head History

Spain vs Saudi Arabia is a fixture that has happened three times previously, including at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where Spain secured a narrow 1-0 victory. The other two meetings were friendlies, both won by Spain by scorelines of 5-0 and 3-2.

At this point, La Roja would probably take any of those results on Sunday.

Team News and Predictions

If Luis de La Fuente starts two non-wingers on the wing again this game I might just go into depression. Luckily, Lamine Yamal is expected to return to the starting XI with near full fitness. But whether he plays the whole 90 minutes remains to be seen. The 20 or so minutes he was on the pitch was the only time Spain looked even decent against Cape Verde.

Nico Williams is also expected to retake his left-wing spot from Gavi, who should honestly be nowhere near the wing as a starter EVER again. Only the new Liverpool signing Victor Munoz is carrying injury doubts, rest all are fit.

Spain predicted line up for Spain vs Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, enters the game without any significant injury issues. Once again, expect the Green Falcons to field their strongest possible lineup.

Saudi Arabia predicted line up for Spain vs Saudi Arabia

Prediction: If this World Cup has taught us anything already, it is that predictions can go out the window the moment the opening whistle blows. I still do believe that Spain will get all three points now that their full strength squad is back, but it won’t be without resistance. A 3-1 Victory for La Roja should take Spain to 4 points at full time.