World Cup
2026-06-21 - Spain vs Saudi Arabia
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: World Cup Group H Match Day 2
Sunday 21st June 2026 - Kick Off 12pm (EST)
British Time 5pm
Spain
Perhaps there was a little bit of arrogance in the Spanish performance, but a lot of the credit has to be given to Cape Verde for arguably the most stunning result of the opening Group matches. The goalless draw means Spain have work to do and the manager will be demanding his team show more ruthlessness than they managed on Monday when a couple of glaring opportunities were missed, notably by Ferran Torres.
Unsurprisingly Spain dominated most of the numbers, but the most important was the final score and the World Cup woes continue for a nation that will have arrived with big expectations. As mentioned in the opening preview, Spain have struggled for wins in the World Cup Finals since picking up the trophy in 2010, although during that time they have won the European Championship twice and reached the Semi Final of another tournament on the continent.
Spain will be grateful for the fact that the other fixture in the Group also ended in a draw as teams have been a little more cautious in the opening games to keep dreams of Qualification for the Last 32 alive. Winning this Group would mean avoiding Argentina, the likely Group J Winners, in the Last 32 and that is something Spain and the tournament would like to do.
Both Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal were able to come off the bench on Monday, but the extra days of rest and recovery should mean they are fit to start. Luis de la Fuente may choose to make one or two other changes after the disappointing opening to the tournament.
Predicted Line Up: Simon, Llorente, Cucurella, Cubarsi, Laporte, Rodri, Pedri, Fabian Ruiz, Yamal, Olmo and Oyarzabel (4-3-3)
Saudi Arabia
Four years ago they stunned South American opposition in the first Group match at the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar and Saudi Arabia were ten minutes away from doing that again when leading Uruguay 1-0 on Monday. Ultimately they were not able to quite repeat the trick of beating Argentina, but it is a point gained for Saudi Arabia and gives them a chance of progressing to the Last 32.
The only previous time Saudi Arabia have managed to scrape out of the Group Stage came back in the 1994 World Cup Finals hosted in the United States, but they will need to beat either Cape Verde or Spain to do the same. They were put under significant pressure in the second half against Uruguay in Miami, and Saudi Arabia have to feel they are going to have to ride out a storm again.
Saudi Arabia showed some confidence when they did get forward against Uruguay in the opening fixture and they will feel that Cape Verde have set up a blueprint as to how they should approach this fixture. Goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais was the hero after a late save to deny Federico Valverde and he is likely going to be key for Saudi Arabia as they bid for a second upset against a former World Cup Winning nation.
The squad was utilised in the heat of Miami, but manager Georgios Donis is unlikely to make too many changes to his starting eleven after the efforts in the draw with Uruguay. Saudi Arabia started with two up front in the last match, but may choose to be a little more solid by changing the system slightly against the highest Ranked team in the section.
Predicted Line Up: Al-Owais, Abdulhamid, Al-Harbi, Al-Amri, Al-Tambakti, Kanno, Al-Khaibari, Abu Al-Shamat, S Al-Dawsari, N Al-Dawsari and Al-Brikan (4-2-3-1)
Head to Head
Spain have won all 3 previous matches against Saudi Arabia.
The first was played twenty years ago in the 2006 World Cup Group Stage as Spain won 1-0, while the most recent was a 5-0 win for the Spanish in an international friendly in September 2012.
Prediction
They are a former World Cup Winner, but in general, Spain have found it very difficult to get up to speed in this setting over the history of the tournament.
Even back in 2010, Spain started the World Cup Finals with a defeat to Switzerland before going on to win the tournament for the first time.
With third place teams having a chance to progress, Spain will not be panicking after the opening result, while the draw in the other game in the Group will help. Winning this section would mean avoiding Argentina in the Last 32, assuming the World Champions are able to win their own Group, and that means Spain need to lift the level and get back on track.
Four years ago Argentina began very slowly against Saudi Arabia and the latter almost beat another South American nation to begin this 2026 World Cup.
A 1-1 draw with Uruguay means Saudi Arabia are likely a win away from earning a spot in the Knock Out Rounds of the World Cup for just the second time with the first being at the 1994 Finals hosted by the United States.
However, they will also feel they need to be better if they are going to do that having been put under siege by Uruguay in the second half of Monday and needing an inspired goalkeeping performance to prevent falling to a defeat.
Spain have the benefit of playing in Atlanta for a second time and they will believe they can be more ruthless if creating the same kind of chances that were wasted against Cape Verde.
With almost another week under the belt, Lamine Yamal is likely going to be employed from the start and Spain are expected to be more focused and intense than they were in the opening fixture.
It should put them in a position to bounce back with a more convincing all around performance and Saudi Arabia may struggle to deal with the expected storm that a disappointed Spain side will bring into this second Group game.
The Pick :
Spain 3-0 Saudi Arabia
