No previous meetings between these teams.
-
1
Abdulelah Al Amri1
- 1
Mikel Oyarzabal5 - 2Fabián Ruiz5
- 3Ferran Torres4
- 4Pedri2
- 5Abdulelah Al Amri2
- 6Marc Cucurella2
- 7Aymeric Laporte2
- 8Lamine Yamal2
- 9Mohamed Kanno2
- 10Rodri2
- 1Saud Abdulhamid3
- 2Pedri2
- 3Marcos Llorente2
- 4Gavi2
- 5Fabián Ruiz2
- 6Nasser Al Dawsari1
- 7Salem Al Dawsari1
- 8Musab Al Juwayr1
- 9Abdulelah Al Amri1
- 10Marc Cucurella1
Spain will be looking to get their 2026 World Cup campaign back on track on Sunday as they face Saudi Arabia in a huge Group H clash in Atlanta.
Arguably the stand-out story from the first round of games at this summer’s tournament was Spain’s failure to beat Cape Verde. The tiny African archipelago, playing in it’s first ever World Cup, held the pre-tournament favourites to a goalless draw in Atlanta. While other contenders like France and England got off to impressive starts, la Roja have work to do. They now take on a Saudi Arabia outfit who got off to a strong start themselves by drawing with Uruguay.
Spain vs Saudi Arabia predictions & betting tips
| Our Prediction | Odds & Bookmaker | Confidence | Why We’re Backing It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain to Win & Under 3.5 Goals | 11/10 @ Sky Bet (47.6%) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Spain are the stronger side here and that is reflected in the odds, but Saudi Arabia will look to sit deep and frustrate them and will likely be happy with a narrow defeat, knowing that a win against Cape Verde will take them through. As such, expect them to frustrate la Roja in a low-scoring match. Fewer than four goals have been scored in each of the last five games that the Green Falcons have played in, while Spain have conceded just twice across their last five outings. Expect a comfortable, if not particularly high-scoring Spain victory. |
| Abdulelah Al Amri to be carded | 9/2 @ bet365 (18.18%) | ⭐⭐ | Abdulelah Al Amri found the net in Saudi Arabia’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, but the defender’s evening also included a booking after a late challenge on Federico Viñas. In this game, the Saudis are expected to spend long periods without the ball, and the centre-back could find himself under constant pressure from a Spanish attack eager to respond after dropping points against Cape Verde. The 29-year-old picked up three yellow cards in the Saudi Pro League this season, two of which arrived during the final five matches of the campaign. |
Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
How both teams go into Spain vs Saudi Arabia
While Spain’s draw with Cape Verde was certainly an embarrassing one given their pre-match odds and status as European Champions, the result also extended their unbeaten run to 32 matches in normal time. Their qualification campaign went off with very few problems and when they click, la Roja are hard to stop.
A shift of tactics will be required here, but that should be easy for Luis de la Fuenta to manage. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams were only introduced from the bench against Cape Verde as they continue their recoveries from injuries. They could both be in line for more minutes. That injection of pace and skill could help pick the lock against Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia will have been delighted to hold Uruguay to a draw in their opening game. While Marcelo Bielsa’s side struggled for rhythm, the Green Falcons were able to capitalise and looked a threat from set-pieces. That point means a win from either of their final two group games will see them into the knock-out stages.
In reality, the AFC outfit know that if they are to pick up three points from either of their remaining games in Group H, it’s much more likely to come against Cape Verde in their last match. That performance against Uruguay has given them a blueprint to replicate though. Expect a similar low-block shape as they look to frustrate their European opponents here.
Spain team news
The big question for Spain is whether their two attacking starlets will be ready to start. Pre-tournament suggestions were that Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal wouldn’t be ready until the knock-out stages. However, both were introduced from the bench in the latter stages in the draw to Cape Verde. If either is fit enough to start it seems most likely to be Yamal.
Victor Munoz, who recently became Andoni Iraola’s first signing as Liverpool manager, will likely miss out again. The 22 year old winger is struggling with a hamstring problem. Other than that, it seems that la Roja have a fully fit squad to take on Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia team news
Don’t expect many, if any changes to Saudi Arabia’s team after their well-earned draw with Uruguay. No fresh injury concerns have been reported by their camp and with so many strong individual performances in that game, expect Georgios Donis to keep the same eleven and hope for a similar showing in Atlanta.
Goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais will have felt he could’ve done better with Uruguay’s equaliser in that game but he still made nine saves in that match. That’s the most of any goalkeeper in the first round of games at the tournament. At the opposite end, the Saudis will look for more from Musab Al Juwayr who was very quiet against Celeste.
Head-to-head
Spain have won all three of their previous meetings with Saudi Arabia. La Roja earned a 1-0 victory in the only previous World Cup meeting between the teams back in 2006.
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 29/05/2010 | Spain 5-0 Saudi Arabia | International Friendly |
| 09/07/2012 | Spain 3-2 Saudi Arabia | International Friendly |
| 23/06/2006 | Spain 1-0 Saudi Arabia | World Cup |
Can Spain recover or will Saudi Arabia’s rearguard come out on top?
Having watch France, Argentina and England win against stronger opponents than Cape Verde, Spain know they have to improve with a big win against Saudi Arabia to build confidence for the knock-out stages.
We fancy them to earn a confident, comfortable victory here. However, don’t expect a tonne of goals to be scored against this solid Saudi backline. That’s why we’re on a Spain win and under 3.5 goals at 11/10 with Sky Bet.
In the player markets, we’re on another card for Saudi Arabia centre-back Abdulelah Al-Amri at 9/2 with bet365. He could be in for a tough night against Spain’s top-class attack and has already been shown one card at this World Cup.
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