Spain
Cape Verde
Reigning European champions Spain open their 2026 World Cup campaign at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta against Cape Verde, who make their first ever appearance at a World Cup finals. On paper, this is the most one-sided fixture of the opening round — La Roja are co-favourites alongside France to win the entire tournament, while the Blue Sharks arrived in North America having beaten Serbia and Bermuda in their warm-up matches. But Cape Verde are not here to be cannon fodder, and Spain have a tendency to underperform against supposedly inferior opposition at major tournaments. Luis de la Fuente will want a very different start to the one his predecessors managed.
Spain — La Roja
De la Fuente lines up in a 4-3-3, with Unai Simón in goal behind a back four of Llorente, Cúbarsi, Laporte and Cucurella. The midfield three of Fabián Ruiz, Rodri and Pedri is one of the finest in world football — Rodri as the anchor and controller, Pedri as the creative heartbeat, Fabián Ruiz as the dynamic box-to-box presence. When all three are functioning together, Spain are almost impossible to play through or around.
The big talking point surrounds the front three. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams — the two players who lit up Euro 2024 and are the primary reasons Spain are considered among the tournament favourites — have both returned to full training after recent injury scares but are expected to start on the bench as a precaution. In their place, Alex Baena starts on the left and Ferran Torres on the right, with Mikel Oyarzabal leading the line through the middle. That is a front three of genuine quality in its own right — Oyarzabal scored the winning goal in the Euro 2024 final and Torres was a Champions League winner with Manchester City — but it is a significant step down from what Spain's best looks like. The expectation is that Yamal and Williams will be eased into the tournament from the bench here, ready to start from gameweek two onwards.
Spain are unbeaten in their last 10 matches, winning seven of them, and arrive as the most technically complete side at this tournament. They won the World Cup in 2010 but have been eliminated in the group stage in 2014 and failed to progress beyond the last 16 in either 2018 or 2022. The hunger to reverse that recent World Cup record is a significant motivating force for this squad.
Cape Verde — The Blue Sharks
Bubista sets up in a 4-2-3-1, with the experienced Vozinha — one of the most decorated goalkeepers in Cape Verdean history — between the sticks. The back four of Cabral, Diney, Lopes and Moreira provides the defensive base, with the double pivot of Pina and Arcanjo tasked with the near-impossible job of disrupting Spain's midfield three. The attacking three of Cabral, Monteiro and Ryan Mendes support lone striker Dailon Livramento.
Mendes is the name to know. At 36, he is Cape Verde's all-time top scorer with 22 goals in 97 appearances — a veteran of multiple African Cup of Nations campaigns and a player with real quality and experience despite the gap in pedigree between the sides. Livramento, meanwhile, has seven goals in 22 caps and provides the primary attacking threat through the centre.
Cape Verde's qualification story is one of the more remarkable of this tournament. They finished above Cameroon — a vastly more established footballing nation — in their CAF group, conceding just three goals across their entire qualifying campaign. Their defensive organisation is real, their team spirit is fierce, and they arrive having won three consecutive matches including those 3-0 victories over Serbia and Bermuda. This is a side that has earned its place here, and Bubista will organise them to make Spain's evening as uncomfortable as possible for as long as possible.
Predicted Lineups
Key Battle
Pedri vs the Cape Verde double pivot. Pedri is at his most dangerous when he finds the ball in tight spaces between the lines and plays give-and-goes that split defensive blocks open. Pina and Arcanjo will be disciplined and combative — but neither operates at anything close to the level of player they are being asked to contain. If Pedri, Rodri and Fabián Ruiz can circulate the ball quickly enough to drag Cape Verde out of shape, the spaces will open for Oyarzabal and the wide players to exploit. Cape Verde's best hope is that Spain are slow to find their rhythm in the opener — and historical precedent suggests that is not an entirely unreasonable hope.
Prediction
Spain will win this comfortably — the question is whether Yamal and Williams are introduced early enough to make it a rout or whether the rotated front three takes time to click. Cape Verde will defend deep and make this hard for the first twenty minutes, but Spain's quality in midfield is simply too good to be kept out for long. Once the first goal goes in, the floodgates are likely to open.
Expect a controlled, professional performance — and perhaps a cameo from Yamal that reminds everyone what is coming for the rest of the tournament.
Spain 4–0 Cape Verde — Oyarzabal, Pedri, Torres, Baena
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