{"id":650772,"date":"2026-06-21T15:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T15:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/650772\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T15:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T15:37:14","slug":"spain-vs-saudi-arabia-live-world-cup-latest-score-and-updates-as-lamine-yamal-starts-after-recovering-from-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/650772\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain vs Saudi Arabia LIVE: World Cup latest score and updates as Lamine Yamal starts after recovering from injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Win a copy of Miguel Delaney\u2019s States of Play<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever wondered who really owns and controls football, now\u2019s your chance to find out.Miguel Delaney, The Independent\u2019s chief football writer, takes readers inside the game in the latest paperback edition of States of Play: How Sportswashing Took Over Football.To celebrate the World Cup, The Independent is giving away 10 copies of the paperback edition.This competition is open exclusively to members of the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter<\/a>. To enter, simply join HERE<\/a> before 12pm on 1 July. Miguel\u2019s weekly newsletter includes:<\/p>\n

An agenda-setting column, diving into the real story behind a big football theme Behind-the-scenes updates from reporting trips, including the World Cup Access to weekly Q&As, where your questions can be featured Snippets of insider knowledge from sources, offering a deeper view beyond the headlines <\/p>\n

New Inside Football members can enjoy their first month FREE. After that, membership costs just \u00a33 per month or \u00a330 per year. Join HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 16:33<\/p>\n

<\/a>Luis de la Fuente compares Lamine Yamal to Salvador Dali and Michelangelo<\/p>\n

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente said he did not want to compare 18-year-old Lamine Yamal to Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona – but had no problem comparing the teenager to \u201cgeniuses\u201d Salvador Dali and Michelangelo. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone,\u201d De la Fuente said. \u201cHe is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are geniuses, like Dali can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They\u2019re different. What is exceptional to us, isn\u2019t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 16:24<\/p>\n

<\/a>Where do Spain stand in our World Cup power rankings? <\/p>\n

The near-unanimous favourite among our writers to lift the World Cup, Spain have gotten off to a pretty rocky start after being held to a 0-0 draw by debutants Cape Verde. This means they miss out on top spot in our power rankings, which would\u2019ve probably been theirs if they had won, though a little bit of leeway can be given due to their lingering injury problems in the opener. Both Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams had to start on the bench, but each man did make a substitute cameo, which hints that they could be ready to play a greater role for the rest of the group stage.<\/p>\n

Will Castle 21 June 2026 16:14<\/p>\n

<\/a>World Cup 2026: Spain v Saudi Arabia head-to-head<\/p>\n

Spain have won all three matches they have played against Saudi Arabia, with their last meeting coming in a friendly in September 2012. <\/p>\n

They have met once before on the World Cup stage, which finished as a 1-0 win for Spain at the 2006 World Cup. <\/p>\n

Juanito scored the winner in Kaiserslauten, in what was the first ever meeting between Spain and Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 16:05<\/p>\n

<\/a>Saudi Arabia team news<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia line up with a back five and a very defensive minded formation as they look to replicate Cape Verde\u2019s approach from the opening game. Defender Ali Lajami comes into the side, while Nasser Al-Dawsari is also called into midfield. <\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia XI: Al-Owais; Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Al-Amri, Al-Harbi, Ali Lajami; N Al-Dawsari, Al-Juwayr, Al-Khaibari; Al-Buraikan, S Al-Dawsari<\/p>\n

\"SaudiSaudi Arabia’s Nasser Al-Dawsari arrives at the stadium (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 16:04<\/p>\n

<\/a>Hero Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha to be reunited with mother at World Cup<\/p>\n

Vozinha, the 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper whose man-of-the-match performance denied Spain in one of the biggest World Cup shocks of all time, will be reunited with his mother at the tournament after the cost of her visa to the US was waived.<\/p>\n

Vozinha made seven saves as minnows Cape Verde held Spain, one of the World Cup favourites, to a 0-0 draw in Atlanta. His heroic performance in his World Cup debut resulted in his Instagram following exploding from just over 50,000 to over 12 million.<\/p>\n

The goalkeeper was in tears at full-time, however, as he mourned the fact that neither his late grandparents or his mother were at the stadium to witness his performance. Vozinha said his mother was unable to secure a visa to travel to the US because she couldn\u2019t afford to pay a returnable bond of $15,000 (\u00a311,200).<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 15:58<\/p>\n

<\/a>Lamine Yamal not concerned by Spain’s opening draw with Cape Verde <\/p>\n

Spain star Lamine Yamal said the goalless draw against Cape Verde did not say anything about their World Cup chances, but accepted La Roja had to beat Saudi Arabia following the \u201cfuss\u201d that followed the opening stalemate. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a fuss about a draw and, in the end, many teams drew, it doesn\u2019t mean anything,\u201d Yamal told RTVE. \u201cFor me, winning 6-0 in the first match is pointless. Obviously, we have to win on Sunday because we are among the favourites and we have to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YamalYamal came on as a substitute in Spain’s opening game (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 15:47<\/p>\n

<\/a>Spain team news: Lamine Yamal starts <\/p>\n

The big news from Spain is that Lamine Yamal STARTS against Saudi Arabia. He may not play the full match, but he starts a World Cup game for the first time after recovering from his hamstring injury. <\/p>\n

He is one of four changes from the 0-0 against Cape Verde. Tottenham\u2019s Pedro Porro replaces Marcos Llorente at right back, Dani Olmo comes in for Fabian Ruiz in midfield, Yamal takes the place of Ferran Torres, and Alex Baena is given the nod ahead of Gavi on the left, with Nico Williams still unavailable for the European champions. <\/p>\n

Spain XI: Simon; Pedro Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Olmo, Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Oyarazabal, Alex Baena.<\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 15:27<\/p>\n

<\/a>World Cup 2026: A big day for Spain in Group H <\/p>\n

After Cape Verde managed to secure a point against Spain, Uruguay sit top of Group H with Saudi Arabia second. Cape Verde are third and Spain, the favourites to win the whole tournament, are fourth.<\/p>\n

Spain would love to get a first win of the tournament against Saudi Arabia. Imagine if they had to beat Uruguay on the final round to advance? <\/p>\n

\"\"(Independent )<\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 15:09<\/p>\n

<\/a>Who will win the World Cup? <\/p>\n

Jamie Braidwood21 June 2026 15:07<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Win a copy of Miguel Delaney\u2019s States of Play If you\u2019ve ever wondered who really owns and controls…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218967,218966,70565,218969,218968,218,218970,218971,218972,26087,218973,218974,218975,218976,101,218977,56,54,55,218978],"class_list":["post-650772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-worldcup2006","tag-218966","tag-deutschland","tag-einzeln","tag-eos1dmkii-205206","tag-football","tag-fussball","tag-jubel","tag-laenderspiel","tag-land","tag-maenner-herren","tag-nationalmannschaft","tag-saudi-arabien-saudiarabien-ksa-uae","tag-spanien-esp","tag-sports","tag-stimmung","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-weltmeisterschaft-wm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}