Spain send statement with Saudi success. Blue Sharks continue fairy tale with Celeste point
Oyarzabal and Yamal on target in dominant display as Luis de la Fuente's side showed their class with a comprehensive Group H victory.
Spain goalscorers: Yamal (10), Oyarzabal (21, 24), Altambakti (49 OG)
Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal made an immediate impact on his return to the Spain starting XI against Saudi Arabia in Atlanta.
Having been held to a shock 0-0 draw by tournament debutants Cabo Verde in their first fixture, La Roja were immediately onto the front foot, pinning their opponents back in their final third.
Luis de la Fuente’s side were three goals to the good before the first hydration break, with Oyarzabal crossing for Yamal to slide home the opener, before capitalising on Saudi Arabia’s inability to clear their lines against the waves of pressure with two close-range finishes of his own in the space of three minutes.
Oyarzabal twice came close to a first-half treble, clipping the top of the bar with an audacious attempt following a poor clearance, before driving across the face of goal and narrowly wide.
There was little let-up after the interval, despite the withdrawal of both goalscorers at half-time, and the unfortunate Hassan Altambakti could only deflect into his own net after Mohammed Alowais’ save from Marc Cucurella’s volley.
Spain now know a point from their final fixture against Uruguay will be enough to secure progress to the Round of 32, while Saudi Arabia must regroup before the tackle Cabo Verde.
Blue Sharks continue fairy tale with Celeste point
Kevin Pina’s free-kick and an opportunistic Helio Varela goal earned Cabo Verde a shock 2-2 draw with Uruguay at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Uruguay 2-2 Cabo Verde
Uruguay goals: Araujo (44), Canobbio (45+6)
Cabo Verde goals: Pina (21), Varela (61)
Little Cabo Verde registered another giant draw with a former FIFA World Cup™ winner. After finishing goalless with Spain, Bubista’s team recovered a half-time deficit to hold Uruguay at Miami Stadium.
Cabo Verde took a shock lead when Telmo Arcanjo earned a free-kick and, from 34 yards, Kevin Pina fired it through a gap in the wall and into the bottom corner.
Uruguay nevertheless swung the contest in their favour with quick-fire goals before the break. Maxi Araujo stooped to nod the ball home after Rodrigo Bentancur’s header came back off the post, before Agustin Canobbio cushioned Araujo’s knock-down past Vozinha.
Bubista’s side were gifted an equaliser when Varela capitalised upon a defensive mix-up and slotted home. It was all Uruguay thereafter but, with the legendary Luis Suarez cheering them on from the stands, they were unable to break down a defence marshalled masterfully by Pico Lopes and Sidny Lopes Cabral.
Ten-man Belgium share spoils with IR Iran
The Red Devils had to settle for a share of the points with IR Iran in a Group G encounter marked by some excellent goalkeeping at both ends.
Belgium 0-0 IR Iran
Belgium and IR Iran are still both seeking their first win of this FIFA World Cup™ following a goalless draw in Los Angeles.
It was a match marked by some terrific saves from Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and his Belgium counterpart Thibaut Courtois, with Rudi Garcia’s Red Devils dominating possession but ending up with ten men after the dismissal of centre-back Nathan Ngoy.
Belgium had Romelu Lukaku starting up front – his first start for club or country since 9 June last year. Yet for all their possession and crosses and cutbacks, the closest they got to an early goal was a strong near-post drive by Youri Tielemans beaten away by goalkeeper Beiranvand.
Iran sat deep and showed impressive resilience, be it through Beiranvand's saves or defensive blocks. And they produced the more serious first-half goal threat. Courtois did brilliantly to get down low to stop a Hossein Kanani shot on the turn following a long throw into the box. Then, after 25 minutes, Team Melli found the net with an impressively inventive free-kick. Ehsan Hajisafi slid the ball through to Mehdi Taremi in the wall and he shot low past Courtois. Sadly for Iran, Taremi had strayed offside.
In the second half, Alireza Jahanbakhsh came on for his 100th cap and Iran called Courtois into action again with a powerful Taremi volley following another long throw. At the other end Beiranvand excelled with two eye-catching low saves to deny Maxim De Cuyper.
After 66 minutes, Belgium lost Ngoy to a red card after his mis-control of the ball let in Taremi and the centre-back pulled him down. However, Amir Ghalenoei’s men could not profit from the extra man, leaving both sides with two points apiece from their two games so far.
Egypt goes top of Group G with a thrilling comeback win against New Zealand
Egypt staged a second-half comeback in Vancouver to secure their first-ever World Cup win and assume control of Group G
Egypt 3, New Zealand 1
The Pharaohs conceded early before knuckling down and taking care of business. In the end, it's a big result in Group G as Egypt now sits on four points, while Belgium and Iran have two and New Zealand has one.