Spain manager Luis de la Fuente made four changes to the side that drew with Cape Verde for the match against Saudi Arabia. Lamine Yamal started, and Pedro Porro came into the team as Spain reset its XI for the next World Cup fixture.
Lamine Yamal in Spain’s XI
Spain lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Simón, Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella, Pedri, Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Baena and Oyarzabal in the side. That gave de la Fuente a different starting group from the draw with Cape Verde and put Yamal straight into the opening XI against Saudi Arabia.
Pedro Porro Joins the Back Line
Porro was one of the players brought in, and the structure around him stayed compact. The change list was limited to four, which points to adjustment rather than a full reset after Spain’s earlier draw.
The source does not say whether those four switches were tactical, forced, or driven by injury. It only shows that de la Fuente altered the lineup before the Saudi Arabia match and kept the team in a 4-2-3-1 system.
Spain After Cape Verde
That leaves the important practical point for Spain supporters: the manager has already moved away from the group that faced Cape Verde, and Yamal was trusted from the start. The unanswered piece is which four names changed from the previous XI and how much de la Fuente is prepared to keep rotating as the tournament goes on.
