Published on 6/21/2026
Luis de Lafuente, coach of the Spanish national team, confirmed that his team is fully prepared before facing the Saudi national team, this evening, Sunday, in the second round of the eighth group competitions in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Spanish national team (European champion) began its career in the current World Cup with a disappointing scoreless draw with the Cape Verde national team, which is participating for the first time in the World Cup, while the Saudi national team opened its campaign with a draw (1-1) with the Uruguay national team, leaving the four teams equal on one point.
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De Lafuente said in the press conference he held on Saturday evening that the players are waiting for the Saudi Arabia match to provide their best performance after the lackluster appearance at the beginning of the campaign and the draw against Cape Verde.
Ready for Amin Jamal
The Spain coach revealed that his young star, Lamine Jamal, is excited to participate in the Saudi Arabia match, but he does not know how many minutes he can participate in the match, adding: “We decide what is appropriate for the team before the match, and if he can start, it is a wonderful thing, and the most important thing is that he returned fully prepared, and we previously played well without him.”
The Spanish coach continued: “Tomorrow is another confrontation and we must win. I do not like drama. We do not feel great tension or pressure or that we are on the verge of collapse. We may have been disappointed, but this may motivate us because we are a competitive team.”
De Lafuente explained: “Because of the way we play, we face teams that defend with a low mass. Each team chooses its own way of playing, and we must play more quickly, and this we did not do against Cape Verde, and we must do it against the Saudi team. We want to restore intensity in performance.”
Regarding his opinion of the Saudi national team, the Spanish national team coach said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has improved at the competitive level, and the national team has improved due to the contribution of many of the senior players in the league. Competition and tactics in the Saudi league have improved, and due to these characteristics they were able to defeat Argentina. We must provide the best performance, otherwise we will be in danger, and we must analyze that on the individual and collective levels.”
I like to take risks, but not against Spain
On the other hand, Georgios Donis, the coach of the Saudi national team, stressed the difficulty of the task facing the Spanish national team, which he described as “the best in the world currently.”
At the same time, Denis stressed the need not to exaggerate respect for the opponent in order to perform well against him, noting that the (green) team will not feel pressure against Spain.
Donis said in the press conference that, as a coach, he likes to take risks, but not having enough time with the players before the World Cup makes the team unprepared for some risks that may backfire.
Regarding the performance in the last match against Uruguay, Donis said: “In general, in the first half we played well. In the second half, I was not satisfied with the performance, so in the training sessions we worked on low defense to make our defensive position better, especially since we will be playing against a team that has possession of the ball. We will work to improve our performance against one of the best teams in the world.”
Criticism of Salem Al-Dosari
Regarding whether he spoke with the player Salem Al-Dosari after the criticism directed at him, Denis said: “When players like Salem Al-Dosari have extensive experience, it is natural for criticism to come.”
He continued, “We must bear these criticisms, whether they are right or not. This is football and we focus on the team spirit and our work, and everyone is ready to deal with these moments.”
Asked whether the Saudi national team could repeat the historic victory against Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, the Greek coach said, “It is good for surprises to happen in the world of football, and we have witnessed this many times, whether in the World Cup or elsewhere, but we do not look from this side.”
Regarding facing the player Lamine Jamal, Donis said: “He is one of the best talents in the world and he is behind Messi in Barcelona. The most important thing is the maturity of the player and he makes the difference. It is good to face these players. He is among the most important talents in the world.”
But he stressed, “The Spanish national team is not the same when Jamal and Neco Williams are on the bench. They had possession of the ball against Cape Verde, but they lacked man-on-man play. This is not a problem in the Spanish team, but when these players are on the bench, it is difficult for them.”
