Saudi Arabia and the United States, two teams that came off disappointing results over the weekend, face off in a friendly match at Estadio Nueva Condomina in Spain on Tuesday, with kickoff at 9 pm.
As they prepare to make a third successive trip to the World Cup, Herve Renard has seen a trio of poor performances from his players.
On Friday, the Ecuadorians held his team in check, as the Green fired only two efforts on target. They are now without a victory since defeating Australia 1-0 in their final qualification affair in March.
During their 2022 qualification campaign, Saudi Arabia had 34 goals, the fewest among the six Asian nations that booked their place in Qatar.
That lack of quality in the attacking third has continued to plague the Saudis, who are goalless in three straight matches (Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador).
Japan came away with a relatively comfortable victory over the United States on Friday, as the Samurai Blue outclassed their opponents tactically and technically.
The US failed to register a shot on target in Dusseldorf, conceding eight themselves as they looked to be tactically and technically outclassed by the Japanese.
Japan had 58% of the possession at the end of the game but was careless with the ball in their half of the field through the opening 45 minutes, giving it away countless times.
Saudi Arabia vs USA Head to Head
Both sides have yet to face each other, which marks their first encounter. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Ecuador 0-0 Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia 0-1 Venezuela
- Colombia 1-0 Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia 1-0 Australia
Away
- Japan 2-0 USA
- El Salvador 1-1 USA
- USA 5-0 Grenada
- USA 0-0 Uruguay
Saudi Arabia Team News
Mohammed Al-Owais made his first clean sheet since Saudi Arabia blanked the Socceroos in March, stopping six Ecuadorian efforts to secure victory. Riyadh Sharahili made his second appearance for the senior side, while Nasser Al-Dawsari needs two more caps to reach double digits with the national team.
USA Team News
Christian Pulisic was notably absent for the US against Japan after taking a knock in training before their match on Friday. Norwich City striker Josh Sargent made his first appearance with the national team in over a year, replacing Jesus Ferreira at the start of the second half against Japan.
Prediction and Odds
The US has not lost consecutive matches since 2019, and we do not expect them to have trouble dealing with Saudi Arabia in this World Cup.
- Away Win
- Goals Under 2.5
- First to Score: Away
