By Mark Gleeson
ATLANTA, June 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's chances of pulling off a surprise result against Spain at the World Cup on Sunday depend heavily on whether Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams line up for the opponents, coach Georgios Donis said on the eve of the game.
Yamal and Williams are both battling their way back to fitness after injury and were substitutes in Spain's opening game at the tournament where Cape Verde held them to a shock goalless draw in Atlanta on Monday.
"Spain is not the
same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench," Donis told a press conference.
"While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I'm not saying it's a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde."
Earlier, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente gave little away at his press conference, telling reporters: "He's (Yamal) feeling well, that's the best news. We will see how many minutes he should play. Some of you are talking about him being in the starting lineup... the main thing is that he's back."
Donis said he wanted his players to make fewer mistakes, be more compact, and defensively organised against the highly rated Spanish.
"We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much," he said.
UNLIKELY TO HAVE ANY POSSESSION AGAINST SPAIN
"It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically."
Saudi Arabia upset Argentina at the last World Cup in Qatar but did not advance past the group stage, while Argentina went on to win the tournament.
"It's nice to see miracles in football, and we've seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it's great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren't drawing anything from that," Donis said.
A 1-1 draw with Uruguay in their opening match in Miami on Monday was a positive start to the tournament for the Saudis, but Donis suggested the key to their hopes of progressing to the last 32 would be a result against Cape Verde in their last group game in Houston next Friday.
"I think we'll feel more pressure in that game than we will against Spain," Donis added.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Atlanta; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
