5 things we learned from Saudi Arabia’s 1-0 loss to Venezuela

Saudi Arabia continued their preparations for the World Cup with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Venezuela on Thursday, the second of two matches at their training camp in Spain. Here are five things that we learned.

1. Performance improved but more aggression needed

Coach Herve Renard, back on the sidelines after suffering from illness, knew that Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Colombia was disappointing. At this stage of the preparation, results are not the be all and end all especially against South American opposition that the players almost never face. It is about building towards November.

And while the team lost again, their performance had improved. Against Colombia, the Green Falcons seemed passive and lacked the intensity and discipline that took them to Qatar in such impressive fashion. Against Venezuela, there was more aggression and pressure.

It was the running of Firas Al-Buraikan that almost pressured the goalkeeper into a mistake just before the hour. It was the aggression of Abdullah Al-Hamdan that barged a defender off the ball and then created a one-on-one chance. Saudi Arabia fought until the end and Sultan Al-Ghannam went even closer with a shot from inside the area. In terms of threat, it was a better performance than four days earlier.

2. Renard right to rotate

The fact that Renard was recently handed a new five-year contract has created an air of stability around the national team that has not always been there in the past. He is not simply concerned about focusing on results and ensuring that he stays in his job until the next game and then doing it all again, he is confident and comfortable enough to make experimental changes despite the earlier loss to Colombia.

A number of fringe players started.