Against all odds, the star-studded La Roja were held to a goalless draw by World Cup debutants Cape Verde in their opening fixture, before Saudi Arabia pulled off their own upset by taking a point off Uruguay in Miami.
Luis de la Fuente's side, who began the competition as second-favourites to lift the trophy, will be confident in their ability to bounce back from this disappointment, though, and that could spell trouble for the Green Falcons.
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Spain v Saudi Arabia Tips Summary
Best Bet - Spain -2 handicap @ 10/11
Alternative Bet - Mikel Oyarzabal to score @ 4/6
Bet Builder - Spain to win to nil, Lamine Yamal to score or assist, Nasser Al Dawsari over 1.5 fouls & Mikel Oyarzabal over 2.5 shots @ 10/3
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Spain v Saudi Arabia Prediction
Best Bet: Spain -2 handicap @ 10/11
Despite having some 27 shots on goal, 74 per cent possession and generating 2.1 expected goals, Spain were held to a shock goalless draw against minnows Cape Verde in the first round of games in Group H, but lightning is unlikely to strike twice when they face Saudi Arabia in Atlanta.
Later that day, the Green Falcons avoided an expected defeat against Uruguay but, like Cape Verde, they rode their luck in earning that point.
Uruguay won the shot count 27-7 and had two thirds of the possession in Miami and the Saudis have lost four of their last seven games.
That includes a 4-0 defeat to Egypt in March, while La Roja have won by more than two goals in five of their last 11 fixtures.
Alternative Bet: Mikel Oyarzabal to score @ 4/6
Spain forward Mikel Oyarzabal had five shots on goal against Cape Verde and, while he was not rewarded for his efforts, the Real Sociedad man looks their most likely route to goal.
He scored his 25th international goal in Spain’s warm-up friendly against Peru earlier this month and came into this World Cup off the back of his most productive La Liga season ever.
The 28-year-old notched 15 goals for his club in 2025/26 and has eight in his last eight outings for De la Fuente’s side.
Spain v Saudi Arabia Bet Builder Tip
Spain to win to nil
Lamine Yamal to score or assist
Nasser Al Dawsari over 1.5 fouls
Mikel Oyarzabal over 2.5 shots
Pays 10/3
Spain have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 games and they are unlikely to be as wasteful as they were against Cape Verde, while Saudi Arabia have failed to score in four of their last nine.
Lamine Yamal started on the bench for Spain's opener after missing the end of the domestic season with a thigh injury, but he should return to the starting line-up on Sunday.
The Barcelona starlet has three goals and two assists in his last four appearances and will be looking to make an impact.
Nasser Al Dawsari may be forced to help contain Yamal and the left-sided midfielder committed a team-high three fouls against Uruguay, so he may find himself on the wrong side of the referee.
Yamal is far from Spain's only threat and, with Oyarzabal having had five shots on goal against Cape Verde, he seems like a solid option to follow that up with over 2.5 shots here.
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Key Match Stats
Spain have kept eight clean sheets in their last 11 games
Mikel Oyarzabal has scored eight goals in his last eight appearances for La Roja
Saudi Arabia have failed to score in three of their last seven games
The Green Falcons have lost four of these seven ties
Lamine Yamal has five goal contributions in his last four appearances for club and country
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
