Spain’s World Cup campaign hung in the balance on Sunday as the 2010 winners faced Saudi Arabia still searching for their first win of the tournament – a defeat that would compound the embarrassment of a group-stage exit.
“This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up,” said Spain coach Luis De La Fuente at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. “There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
“Spain must beat Saudi Arabia to avoid World Cup embarrassment, says coach De La Fuente.”
De La Fuente made four changes to the side that drew their opening match, bringing in Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena. Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropped out.
Kick-off was set for 12pm local time (5pm BST) in what promised to be a tense afternoon for the Spaniards. “It’s going to be a completely different story,” De La Fuente added, insisting his team would bounce back.
But the statistics told a grim story: Spain, once the dominant force in world football, had yet to register a win in the summer tournament. Failure against Saudi Arabia would not only end their World Cup hopes but also raise serious questions about the direction of the national team.
As the players took to the pitch, the weight of expectation was palpable. One fan, Charles Antaki, mused on striker Mikel Oyarzabal’s lack of touches in the opening minutes. “Hopefully a few more touches in the first 30 minutes here,” he wrote during the live blog.
For now, Spain’s fate rests on whether De La Fuente’s changes can spark a revival – or whether the 2010 champions will suffer another ignominious defeat.