Saudi Arabia is not a pushover—just look, they’ve held Uruguay to a draw and even beaten Argentina.

A lot of people, the moment they hear “Saudi Arabia,” think of “free points”—brothers, that old calendar is long outdated.

At the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Saudi Arabia overturned Argentina 2-1 in the group stage. The whole world was shocked. In the first round this year as well, Saudi Arabia again held Uruguay to a 1-1 draw. What level is Uruguay? A South American powerhouse, a regular at the World Cup, boasting top stars like Valverde and Nunez. If Saudi Arabia can take a point off them, it definitely isn’t luck.

Saudi Arabia’s approach is very pragmatic: low-block defending, strict discipline, and incisive counterattacks. In the first round, goalkeeper Oweis made 9 saves against Uruguay—he nearly kept a clean sheet. The whole team’s defensive positioning is extremely tight, not giving you easy passing options. This game plan is exactly the same as the one used in Cape Verde’s match where they drew with Spain.

Before the match, Saudi Arabia’s head coach Dunes said a very key line: “Whether Spain has Yamal or not is two different teams.” That was spot-on. In the previous match, Spain didn’t have Yamal in the starting lineup, and their offense simply couldn’t get going. If Yamal starts this time, Saudi’s defensive pressure will be much greater. But if Yamal isn’t in form or is restricted again, Saudi Arabia could very well replicate Cape Verde’s script.

So don’t treat Saudi Arabia as a team coming just to hand over points. They have tactics, discipline, a goalkeeper, and the psychological advantage of having beaten Argentina. Spain wants to steamroll them easily? It’s not that simple.

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