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Saudi hopes of shock against Spain boosted by Yamal, Williams doubts
🇸🇬 Singapore /Sports

Saudi hopes of shock against Spain boosted by Yamal, Williams doubts

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Saudi Arabia's coach Georgios Donis believes his team's chances against Spain in the World Cup depend on whether key Spanish players Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams play.
  • Donis noted that Spain plays differently without Yamal and Williams, lacking individual penetration, though they still maintain possession.
  • Saudi Arabia aims for a result against Spain, drawing on past upsets like their win against Argentina, but Donis emphasized focusing on their own game and progressing from the group.

Saudi Arabia's coach Georgios Donis believes his team can exploit Spain's weaknesses if key attackers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are absent for their World Cup clash on Sunday. Donis stated that Spain's attacking penetration diminishes significantly when these two players are not on the field.

Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench. While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing.

— Georgios DonisSaudi Arabia's coach commenting on the impact of Spanish players Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on their team's performance.

"Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench," Donis told reporters. "While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I'm not saying it's a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way."

He's feeling well, that's the best news. We will see how many minutes he should play.

— Luis de la FuenteSpain's coach providing an update on Lamine Yamal's fitness.

Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente offered a more optimistic outlook on Yamal's fitness, saying, "He's feeling well, that's the best news. We will see how many minutes he should play." However, Donis stressed that his team must focus on minimizing mistakes and maintaining defensive organization against the highly-rated Spanish side.

It's nice to see miracles in football, and we've seen favorites losing against underdogs. Of course, it's great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren't drawing anything from that.

— Georgios DonisSaudi Arabia's coach discussing the team's past upset win against Argentina and its relevance to the current match.

Despite Saudi Arabia's historic upset win over Argentina in the last World Cup, Donis downplayed its relevance for the upcoming match. "It's nice to see miracles in football, and we've seen favorites losing against underdogs. Of course, it's great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren't drawing anything from that," he said. Donis suggested that the team feels more pressure in their final group game against Cape Verde than in the match against Spain.

I think we'll feel more pressure in that game than we will against Spain.

— Georgios DonisSaudi Arabia's coach comparing the pressure of upcoming matches.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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