World Cup 2026 Group H: Spain and Cape Verde qualify - Muslera blunder sends Uruguay home
GROUP H COMPLETE, 1st: Spain 7 pts (qualified); 2nd: Cape Verde 3 pts (3 draws, historic all-draw qualification); 3rd: Uruguay 2 pts (eliminated, Muslera blunder vs Spain); 4th: Saudi Arabia 2 pts (eliminated). MD3 (26 Jun): Spain 1-0 Uruguay (Muslera own-goal blunder 42', subbed at HT); Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia. MD2 (21 Jun): Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia; Uruguay 2-2 Cape Verde. MD1 (15 Jun): Spain 0-0 Cape Verde (Vozinha heroic); Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay.
The context
Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has already delivered one of the tournament’s defining early stories, and the group is still in its opening act. After Matchday 1 on June 15, all four teams are level on one point each, a situation that barely happens in World Cup group play and signals that anything can happen over the remaining two rounds.
The headline from Matchday 1 belongs to Cape Verde and their goalkeeper Vozinha. At Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the 40-year-old shot-stopper faced reigning world champions Spain and spent 90 minutes producing save after save, seven in total, to secure a goalless draw that left the football world stunned. Spain had 27 shots. Vozinha stopped them all. It is one of the most extraordinary individual performances of the tournament so far, and Cape Verde’s debut point against Spain will be remembered regardless of how the rest of their campaign unfolds.
Meanwhile, in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay produced an entertaining 1-1 draw. Abdulelah Al Amri gave the Saudis a lead they held deep into the match, before Maxi Araújo, the Atlético Madrid winger, found an equaliser to preserve Uruguay’s unbeaten record. Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguayan side are dangerous opponents for anyone; they were unfortunate not to win.
Matchday 2 on June 21 settled much of the suspense, though not all of it.
In Atlanta, Spain answered their critics with authority. Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old Barcelona prodigy making his World Cup debut, scored in the 10th minute to get the champions moving. Mikel Oyarzabal then added two more in the 21st and 24th minutes, giving Spain a 3-0 lead inside the first half-hour. Trainer Luis de la Fuente substituted both players at half-time, the job essentially done; Altambakti added an own goal in the 49th to complete the 4-0 rout. Saudi Arabia, bottom of the group, have 1 point and now face Uruguay on June 26 in a must-win situation.
In Miami, Uruguay and Cape Verde delivered one of the most entertaining matches of the group stage. Kevin Pina opened the scoring with an outrageous 30-yard free kick in the 21st minute, Cape Verde’s first ever World Cup goal. Uruguay’s Maxi Araújo equalised in the 44th and Agustín Canobbio put Uruguay 2-1 ahead with a close-range finish in the 45+6th minute, only for substitute Hélio Varela to equalise for Cape Verde in the 61st. The 2-2 result is remarkable for a debutant side: Cape Verde are the first new nation to go unbeaten in their first two World Cup appearances since Senegal in 2002.
Matchday 3 on June 26 decided the group in dramatic circumstances. Spain faced Uruguay, whose goalkeeper Fernando Muslera became the story: in the 42nd minute, Álex Baena’s shot hit Muslera’s gloves but squirmed into the net. The 40-year-old Uruguayan captain, who had already made errors earlier in the tournament, was substituted at half-time by coach Marcelo Bielsa, but it was too late. Spain won 1-0 to claim seven points and top the group. Simultaneously, Cape Verde held Saudi Arabia to a 0-0 draw, their third consecutive draw of the tournament, a World Cup first for any team advancing from the group stage. Final Group H: Spain 7 pts (1st, qualified), Cape Verde 3 pts (2nd, qualified, history’s first team to advance with an all-draw group record), Uruguay 2 pts (3rd, eliminated), Saudi Arabia 2 pts (4th, eliminated on inferior goal difference).