By Nick Mulvenney
MIAMI, June 14 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis said he will not be sending out a "passive" team to play for a draw in their World Cup opener against Uruguay on Monday and expects his players to be highly competitive against the South Americans at Miami Stadium.
With European champions Spain and Cape Verde completing Group H, the Saudis might be forgiven for going out to avoid defeat and therefore strengthening their chances of advancing to the knockout stage, at the very
least as one of the eight third-placed teams.
Donis, while accepting it might turn out to be Saudi Arabia's most important group match, said such thinking ran counter to the philosophy he had been trying to instil in the squad and that the Green Falcons would be going out to win.
"We are ready to press our opponent. We are ready to play organised defence. We are ready to counterattack. We are also ready to create chances," he told a press conference on Sunday.
"We cannot know how the match will unfold (but) we are not preparing a team that will have a passive role and simply wait for the opponent in order to react. We are preparing a team that will play with confidence."
GREAT WORLD CUP UPSET
The Saudis famously sprung one of the great World Cup upsets when they beat Argentina at the 2022 tournament, while victories over Morocco and Belgium got them to the first knockout stage the last time the United States hosted in 1994.
Donis said it was important the Saudi players respected the great moments of the past, but thinks the more recent arrival in the Saudi Pro League of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema might be more important when they face off against the likes of Federico Valverde on Monday.
"Our players are used to having great stars as teammates or opponents," he said. "Either they train with them, or they face them in matches. That is a big advantage for my players, because yes, they respect all opponents, but on the other hand, none of this is new to them."
Donis, who has coached four Saudi clubs over the last 10 years, said he would have hoped for more than seven weeks to prepare the squad after taking over from Herve Renard, but was confident the players had embraced his ethos of courage and distinct identity.
"Everything happened very quickly," he said. "Certainly I had the advantage that I knew the players, but it is very different to know players as an opponent than as their coach.
"The time we have trained together is very short. But on the other hand, the players, through their behaviour, have given me confidence as well. Beyond confidence in the philosophy that I believe in, I expect us to be very competitive."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ed Osmond)
