{"id":43879,"date":"2026-06-21T12:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T12:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/43879\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T12:09:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T12:09:13","slug":"fifa-world-cup-atlanta-spain-vs-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/43879\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA WORLD CUP ATLANTA: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) \u2014 Spain returns to Atlanta on Sunday after a shocking draw against Cape Verde, hoping to pull away in a Group H that is all tied up at 1 point each. <\/p>\n

They\u2019ll once again face off against a stellar goalkeeper, this time Saudi Arabia\u2019s Mohammed Al-Owais. The 34-year-old only allowed one goal on 27 shots in Saudi Arabia\u2019s opening draw against Uruguay. <\/p>\n

>> FULL WORLD CUP COVERAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

How have they done so far?Spain\"Spain'sSpain’s Lamine Yamal runs during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)(Mike Stewart | AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)<\/p>\n

Spain was stunned by World Cup debutants Cape Verde Monday, being held goalless by a stout Cape Verde defense. Spain sent 27 shots at Cape Verde\u2019s goalkeeper Vozinha, but the 40-year-old made several acrobatic saves to keep the ball out of the net. <\/p>\n

Not even a late appearance by forward Lamine Yamal could earn Spain three points. <\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n

\"SaudiSaudi Arabia’s goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais gestures during the international friendly soccer match between Serbia and Saudi Arabia in Backa Topola, Serbia, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Darko Vojinovic)(Darko Vojinovic | AP)<\/p>\n

Much like Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia leaned on a stout defense and the occasional breakaway to earn a 1-1 tie against Uruguay on Monday. Keeper Mohammed Al-Owais only let one of 27 shots slip past him. Uruguay was relentless in the second half of Monday\u2019s match, but Al-Owais kept the teams level. <\/p>\n

How good are these teams?Spain\"SpainSpain midfielder Mikel Merino walks off the plane with teammates after arriving for the World Cup soccer tournament Friday, June 5, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo\/George Walker IV)(George Walker IV | AP Photo\/George Walker IV)<\/p>\n

Spain is currently the No. 3 team in the FIFA rankings after their draw with Cape Verde, behind Argentina and France. <\/p>\n

Spain is 2-0-3 in their last five, including a 3-1 win over Peru on June 8. The Spaniards also beat Croatia 3-0 and tied Egypt 0-0 in friendlies. <\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\"SaudiSaudi Arabia’s Nasser Al-Dawsari runs during an international friendly soccer match against Puerto Rico, Friday, June 5, 2026, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo\/Darren Abate)(Darren Abate | AP Photo\/Darren Abate)<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia is No. 59, the seventh-best of nine AFC teams at the World Cup. <\/p>\n

Before their opening draw with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia went 1-1-3 in their previous five. They tied Senegal, beat Puerto Rico and lost to Ecuador, Serbia and Egypt.<\/p>\n

Who were the previous starting XI?Spain (4-3-2-1)\"SpainSpain goalkeeper Unai Simon reacts to fans during a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)(Mike Stewart | AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)Goalkeeper Unai Sim\u00f3n (Athletic Bilbao)Defender Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)Defender Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao)Defender Pau Cubars\u00ed (Barcelona)Defender Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid)Midfielder Pedri (Barcelona)Midfielder Rodri (Manchester City)Midfielder Fabi\u00e1n Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain)Midfielder Gavi (Barcelona)Midfielder Dani Olmo (Barcelona)Forward Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)Saudi Arabia (4-4-2)\"SaudiSaudi Arabia’s Abdulelah Alamri (4) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Miami Gardens, Fla., Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Marta Lavandier)(Marta Lavandier | AP Photo\/Marta Lavandier)Goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais (Al-Hilal)Defender Moteb Al-Harbi (Al-Hilal)Defender Hassan Al-Tambakti (Al-Hilal)Defender Saud Abdulhamid (Lens)Defender Abdulelah Al-Amri (Al-Nassar)Midfielder Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal)Midfielder Abdullah Al-Khaibari (Al-Nassr)Midfielder Mohamed Kanno (Al-Hilal)Midfielder Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat (Al-Qadsiah)Forward Musab Al-Juwayr (Al-Qadsiah)Forward Feras Al-Brikan (Al-Ahli)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) \u2014 Spain returns to Atlanta on Sunday after a shocking draw against Cape…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6595,5005,18988,18987,18986,18969,3358,6522,18975,18974,18990,1437,19958,19959,19960,19961,19962,19963,17,18982,14788,12071,18989,369,19154,18976,18973,18981,18991],"class_list":["post-43879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-2026-fifa-world-cup","tag-2026-world-cup","tag-anf","tag-atlanta-news","tag-atlanta-news-first","tag-atlanta-world-cup-matches","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-fifa-world-cup-group-h","tag-fifa-world-cup-matches","tag-how-old-is-lamine-yamal","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-saudi-arabia-football","tag-saudi-arabia-soccer","tag-saudi-arabia-starting-xi","tag-saudi-arabia-world-cup","tag-saudi-arabia-world-cup-roster","tag-saudi-arabia-world-cup-schedule","tag-spain","tag-spain-starting-xi","tag-spain-vs-saudi-arabia","tag-spain-world-cup","tag-wanf","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-atlanta","tag-world-cup-group-h","tag-world-cup-groups","tag-world-cup-rosters","tag-youngest-players-at-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}