{"id":4652,"date":"2026-06-21T21:08:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4652"},"modified":"2026-06-21T21:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:08:37","slug":"after-spending-billions-saudi-arabia-gets-a-world-cup-wake-up-call-against-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4652","title":{"rendered":"After spending billions, Saudi Arabia gets a World Cup wake-up call against Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Spain\u2019s Mikel Oyarzabal, top left, scores his side\u2019s second goal against Saudi Arabia during the World Cup Group H soccer match in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo\/Butch Dill)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

ATLANTA \u2014 Sitting on the bench, Saudi Arabia striker Saleh Al-Shehri could only put his head in his hands as Spain extended its lead to 4-0 early into the second half at the World Cup<\/a> .<\/p>

Read more Senegal coach isn\u2019t saying how much he\u2019ll change against Norway at the World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia had always been a heavy underdog against the European champion. But still there was hope for an upset. After all, in 2022, Saudi Arabia had famously defeated Argentina<\/a> in the World Cup. And, just six days ago, in this very stadium, World Cup debutant Cape Verde had frustrated Spain, holding them to a 0-0 draw<\/a> .<\/p>\n

Sunday was different, though, as Spain dominated from the start, recording 22 shots to Saudi Arabia\u2019s three.<\/p>\n

The 4-0 loss<\/a> was not a fatal blow for the Green Falcons. A win against Cape Verde on Friday would still give Saudi Arabia a chance to advance out of the group stage.<\/p>\n

But the defeat was a demoralizing blow for a country that has poured billions into the sport<\/a> as it tries to bring more legitimacy to its domestic league and bolster the national team ahead of Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup<\/a> .<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s team is almost entirely composed of players who compete in the Saudi Pro League, where they play with and against aging superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Man\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Though Saudi Arabia has started to pull back from such spending on international stars, Green Falcons coach Georgios Donis said their presence had raised the standard of the Saudi league and helped local players develop, though he acknowledged that translating those gains to the international stage remains a challenge.<\/p>

Read more Serena Williams will play singles at Wimbledon after accepting a wild card invitation<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe more competitive the competition, the better our players will be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite those investments, native Saudi players have sometimes struggled to get significant minutes on the field. Starting goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, for instance, joined a club in the Saudi second tier last year to secure more playing time.<\/p>\n

The national team has also had three coaches in the last two years, with Donis appointed<\/a> less than two months before Saudi Arabia kicked off their World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n

The tournament had opened more promisingly last week for Saudi Arabia thanks to a 1-1 draw with Uruguay<\/a> in which they held the lead until the 80th minute. On Sunday, in Atlanta, though, they never looked threatening and were down 3-0 within the first 25 minutes. Donis called Sunday a \u201cbad result\u201d against \u201cone of the best teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the Saudi players had demonstrated some good link-up play but that they had run into a \u201cvery powerful\u201d Spanish side.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to Cape Verde, Donis said he was confident his team would rediscover their potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will come back to the level … where we\u2019ll be very competitive,\u201d Donis said.<\/p>

Read more Lamine Yamal scores 10 minutes into his first World Cup start and gives Spain liftoff<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saudi Arabia\u2019s bid to measure the progress of its ambitious soccer project suffered a reality check in a 4-0 loss to Spain at the World Cup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter spending billions, Saudi Arabia gets a World Cup wake-up call against Spain - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4652\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After spending billions, Saudi Arabia gets a World Cup wake-up call against Spain - 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