Spain vs Saudi Arabia arrives with Spain needing a response at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday. The reigning European champions opened with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde and did not score from 27 shots, so Group H control is already on the line.
Lamine Yamal and Spain
Lamine Yamal was named on the bench against Cape Verde and came on in the 71st minute. On Friday, he said: "I’m fine, I’m feeling good, but it’s too soon, it’s unnecessary; I’m still settling in – it’s not the right time to play a full match yet – but I can play for as many minutes as the manager wants".
He added: "I want to be on the pitch; at the end of the day, even if you know you can’t play for 90 minutes, you always want to get out there and help the team." That leaves Spain with a clear selection issue before kickoff at 12pm local time, 16:00 GMT, because one of their main attacking options is available only in managed minutes.
Saudi Arabia and Georgios Donis
Saudi Arabia reached the match after a 1-1 draw with Uruguay, and Georgios Donis called that result a "booster for our psychology". Saudi Arabia also beat Argentina in the opening round of the 2022 World Cup, a reminder that they have already handled a bigger stage in the tournament.
Donis took over two months before the World Cup, and Spain will have to deal with a side that has already taken points from one of its opening group games. Opta gave Spain an 86.7 percent probability of winning, Saudi Arabia 4.3 percent, and the draw 9 percent, but those numbers only matter if Spain can turn territory into goals.
Group H pressure in Atlanta
Spain are the 2010 World Cup champions and the reigning European champions, but the opener left them with a basic problem: the volume was there, the finish was not. Saudi Arabia are making their seventh appearance in North America, and a result in Atlanta would keep Group H tight after Spain's false start.
The most useful question now is not whether Spain can create chances — they already did that against Cape Verde — but whether they can convert them while Yamal is eased back in. If he stays on a limited workload, Spain need a cleaner final ball from the rest of the attack at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
