Spain will continue their World Cup campaign today against Saudi Arabia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The major headlines surrounding the Spanish team have been around Lamine Yamal’s fitness and whether he will be fit enough to start their second World Cup game. Yamal played 19 minutes in Spain’s opener, but it was not enough for a Spanish side that was struggling throughout the 90 minutes vs. Cape Verde.
With little room for error, Spain have made four changes from their opening game lineup.
Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, and Alex Baena replace Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres, and Gavi.
Returning to Glory
Since winning the 2010 World Cup, Spain have struggled immensely since:
2014 World Cup: 5-1 loss to Netherlands, 2-0 loss to Chile, 3-0 consolation win vs. Australia
2018 World Cup: 3-3 draw vs. Portugal, 1-0 win vs. Iran, 2-2 draw vs. Morocco, Round of 16 PK loss to Russia
2022 World Cup: 7-0 win vs. Costa Rica, 1-1 draw vs. Germany, 2-1 loss to Japan, Round of 16 PK loss to Morocco
2026 World Cup: 0-0 draw vs. Cape Verde
As the 2024 Euros winners and favorites heading into this tournament, Spain will need to improve their overall play if they have any hope of making a deep run in this tournament.
