Bielsa. Saudi Arabia is not an easy opponent… and these are ideas we want to implement

Argentina’s Marcelo Bielsa, coach of the Uruguay national team, believes that it will not be easy to face Saudi Arabia in the first round of Group H of the 2026 World Cup tomorrow, Tuesday dawn.

Uruguay and Saudi Arabia compete In the eighth group of the World Cup, together with Spain and Cape Verde.

Bielsa said at the press conference before the confrontation with Saudi Arabia. “The Saudi Arabian team has players with high individual abilities, we will not face an easy opponent under any circumstances.”

According to the Saudi Sports newspaper, he added: “Any conclusions about our level or our preparation will be made after the game.”

He noted that his players will try to apply their attacking style and press with the largest number of players, adding: “We will try to attack and press with as many players as possible, while recovering the ball quickly and finding a balance between what we do in possession and what we do without the ball.”

He continued. “These are ideas that we want to implement, but our ability to implement them also depends on the way the opponent plays and how they impose on us during the game.”

As for the Uruguay team’s flight delay, Bielsa denied that it had any effect on their preparations as he said: “The delay of the flight did not cause us any problems.

He explained about the preparation of Jose Maria Jimenez. “Jimenez had an ankle problem and he joined training late. We’ve been following the stages of his comeback, but he finally joined us and he’s with us and ready.”

He said about Ronald Araujo. “He came from a muscle problem, which was not strong, after playing the last six months with Barcelona without problems until he tore it.

“When a player gets injured in training, it means something has gone wrong. Araujo is working with a group that he trusts a lot and he has not made any decisions about it without consulting and agreeing with it.”