Álex Baena was handed a starting role for Spain against Arabia Saudí on Sunday at 18.00, with Luis de la Fuente making four changes after the flat 0-0 draw with Cabo Verde. Baena went in on the left wing in place of Gavi, one of several moves meant to give Spain a faster response in the second match of Group H of the Mundial 2026.
The switch mattered because Spain arrived in Atlanta still carrying the weight of that opening draw, and de la Fuente chose to reshape the side rather than wait for form to correct itself. Ferran, Gavi, Fabián and Marcos Llorente all dropped to the bench, while Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Baena entered the XI alongside Unai Simón, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri, Pedri and Oyarzabal.
That selection points to a clear reading of the first match: Spain needed more bite, more width and more invention after failing to break Cabo Verde down. Baena’s role on the left was not a cosmetic change. It was part of a larger adjustment in which de la Fuente kept the spine of the team but tried to alter the pace and shape of the attack without abandoning control.
The tension is that Spain made the changes before anyone knew whether they would work. A draw with Cabo Verde left little room for another cautious showing, yet Arabia Saudí arrived with its own memory of the tournament, having drawn with Uruguay in the first round and having beaten Argentina at the Mundial de Qatar 2022. That history does not decide this match, but it explains why Spain’s response felt urgent.
For Baena, the opportunity is immediate and plain: start, stretch the left side, and justify the trust in a game Spain needed to answer quickly. The result was not given, but the lineup itself showed that de la Fuente was not waiting for the tournament to settle around him.
