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Spain and Cape Verde secured their qualification for the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup this Friday after the conclusion of , with results that eliminated Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
The two matches of the final day were played simultaneously: Spain defeated Uruguay 1-0 at the Akron Stadium in Zapopan, while Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 at the NRG Stadium in Houston.
The goal that defined the match came in the 42nd minute in Zapopan, when Álex Baena took advantage of a serious error by the Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to score the only goal of the game with a right-footed shot.
Spain finished first with 7 points, two victories, one draw, and a clean sheet throughout the group stage: five goals scored and none conceded.
Cape Verde, on the other hand, wrote one of the most remarkable stories of the tournament by becoming the first historical debutant to complete a World Cup group stage without losing a single match.
The African team accumulated three consecutive draws —0-0 against Spain, 2-2 against Uruguay, and 0-0 against Saudi Arabia— which were enough to earn three points and secure the second place in the group, ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, both with two points.
The journey of Spain in the group was decisive from the second matchday: after the goalless draw against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta, the team achieved a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on June 21 at the same stadium, with goals from Lamine Yamal, a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal, and an own goal.
Uruguay, two-time world champion in 1930 and 1950, reached the final day with only two points after drawing 1-1 with Saudi Arabia and 2-2 with Cape Verde, and needed to win to advance. The defeat against Spain .
Saudi Arabia, for its part, finished last with a goal difference of -4, having conceded five goals and scored only one in three matches.
With the group resolved, the Round of 32 matchups are now defined for both qualifiers: Spain, as the first place team, will face the second from Group J —either Austria or Algeria, still to be determined— on July 2 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Cabo Verde, meanwhile, will face Argentina —first in Group J— on July 3 in Miami, in what will be the most challenging match possible for the group’s surprise team.
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