Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis says there is zero chance of his players being overawed when they take on Uruguay in their World Cup Group H opener on Monday (Tuesday, 2am UAE).
Donis, who replaced Herve Renard in April on the eve of the tournament, is a veteran of Saudi club management and has witnessed first-hand the transformation of the domestic game in the kingdom.
He first managed Al Hilal in 2015 and has also enjoyed spells at Al Wehda, Al Fateh and most recently Al Khaleej. The new-look SPL is often derided for having had a detrimental effect on the national team, with minutes now harder to come by for Saudi players.
Donis, though, only sees positives. He argues that training with and playing against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema has had a profound and positive impact on his squad.
“Our players are used to having great stars as teammates or opponents,” said Donis.
“Either they train with them, or they face them in matches. That is a big advantage for my players, because yes, they respect all opponents, but on the other hand, none of this is new to them.”
Donis' experience in Saudi football means he has a deep knowledge of his players, but the 56-year-old Greek admits it was less than ideal having only seven weeks to prepare the team for a section that also includes tournament favourites Spain and minnows Cape Verde.
“Everything happened very quickly,” he said. “Certainly I had the advantage that I knew the players, but it is very different to know players as an opponent than as their coach.
“The time we have trained together is very short. But on the other hand, the players, through their behaviour, have given me confidence as well. Beyond confidence in the philosophy that I believe in, I expect us to be very competitive.”
Despite a draw representing a strong start to their campaign, Donis insists he will be sending his team out to win against the South Americans at Miami Stadium.
“We are ready to press our opponent. We are ready to play organised defence. We are ready to counter-attack. We are also ready to create chances,” he said.
“We cannot know how the match will unfold but we are not preparing a team that will have a passive role and simply wait for the opponent in order to react. We are preparing a team that will play with confidence.”
Uruguay hit by travel problems
Opponents Uruguay only arrived in Miami late on Sunday after becoming the latest team to endure a travel ordeal. Uruguay pinned the blame on Fifa for their troubles flying from Mexico to Miami.
The original flight was reportedly not allowed to depart due to administrative issues, including some missing paperwork, and officials had to scramble to line up a new flight. Fifa is in charge of all travel-related arrangements at the 48-team World Cup.
Uruguay are based in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and trained on Sunday. When the travelling delegation reached the airport in Cancun, approximately 45 miles away, they learnt the group was not authorised to enter the United States.
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Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa and team captain Jose Maria Gimenez missed Sunday's originally scheduled press conference in South Florida due to the issue. The media briefing was pushed back and the coach and captain were in attendance.
“The trip went well, we made the most of it, and saw it in a positive light,” Gimenez said in Spanish. “We took the chance to rest at the hotel [in Cancun].”
Bielsa was asked what sort of disruption the flight issue caused his team. “No, the flight doesn't cause any complications,” Bielsa said in Spanish before changing the subject to his team's preparation in both the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and Playa del Carmen. “In Montevideo, the players had constant obligations, but they also had family time, which I felt was necessary.”
The veteran coach also warned Saudi Arabia that his team will go on the attack. “The way we play is no secret,” he said. “We try to have possession of the ball, we try to go forward and attack with many players. We try to play on the other side of the pitch and recover the ball quickly. And also to have a good relationship between possession and dangerous situations that we create.”
