Storming Spain forces Dennis to follow Mancini’s trick.

Saudi Arabia look set to head into one of their toughest matches of the 2026 World Cup when they face Spain in the second round of the group stage, a clash that could prompt Greece coach Georgios Donis to temporarily abandon some of his technical beliefs to protect Al-Akhdar’s chances against strong opposition.

Saudi Arabia opened their tournament with a valuable 1-1 draw against Uruguay to keep their qualification hopes alive, but the task looks more difficult this time around against an injured Spain side, who will be looking to make amends for their surprise first-round slip-up.

5 defenders to counter the Spanish threat

According to the newspaper, in 2018Middle EastSaudi Arabia – Denis turned to experimenting with five backs in recent training sessions, with the aim of increasing defensive strength and closing spaces against the Spaniards’ quick movements.

Read also… Yamal and 3 defenders.. Will Donis be trapped in the world championship?

The trend reflects the amount of respect the Greek coach has for the opposition, especially since Spain have a group of players capable of making a difference in tight spaces led by Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo.

Also, relying on three centre-backs gives the Saudi team more coverage inside the penalty area, while allowing the full-backs to play defensive and attacking roles as the match progresses.

Dennis renounces some of his beliefs

Donis is known as one of those coaches who prefers to dominate the ball and try to impose his style on the opponent, but a confrontation of Spain’s size may force a completely different calculation.

Spain are regarded as one of the best teams in the world at controlling and rotating the ball, which makes trying to keep up with them in this regard a big risk that could prove very costly on the greens.

Therefore, it seems that the Greek coach is moving towards a more realistic approach, based on reducing the spaces between the lines and relying on defensive organization and quick transitions, instead of entering a losing battle for possession beforehand.

Donis has never been a tactically strict coach, as he has admitted several times in the past that he changes his style of play according to the nature of the opposition, stressing that the teams he coached in Greece played a different local style compared to the European games.

Will the ghost of Mancini return?

It is worth noting that the idea of ​​relying on five defenders is reminiscent of Italian Roberto Mancini’s experience in the Saudi Arabian national team.

Mancini preferred this tactical scheme in most matches with Al-Akhdar, believing that it gave the team more balance. However, this philosophy was widely criticized by Saudi fans, who saw it as diminishing the team’s attacking capabilities and giving it an overly defensive nature.

But the difference this time is that Donis doesn’t seem convinced to play with five backs as a permanent option, but rather as a temporary solution forced by the nature of the matchup and the strength of the opposition.