Spain vs Cape Verde Preview
Spain enter the 2026 World Cup as one of the pre-tournament favourites following a 30-match unbeaten run. Cape Verde face a step up in quality compared to recent opponents and La Roja can secure a comfortable Group H win.
Key Stats - La Roja Keep Clean Sheets
- Spain have won to nil in 6 of their last 10 matches.
- Spain have allowed -1 XG in 3 of their last 4 games.
- Spain have scored 3+ goals in 6 of their last 10 matches.
H2H - First Encounter
This will be the first-ever meeting between Spain and Cape Verde.
Spain Have Quality at Both Ends
European champions Spain enter the 2026 World Cup following a 30-match unbeaten run, including 21 victories. La Roja haven’t lost a competitive international since March 2023.
Luis de la Fuente’s side cruised through World Cup qualifying and topped Group E after five wins from six games. The European outfit also conceded just two goals and scored 21 during qualification.
Spain continued their unbeaten run in four warm-up friendlies, starting with a 3-0 victory over Serbia. Back-to-back draws with Egypt 0-0 and Iraq 1-1 followed and Spain allowed 0.21 or less in each stalemate.
La Roja hit back with a dominant 3-1 triumph against Peru on Tuesday. Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedri scored in the opening 32 minutes and Peru scored an own goal after half time.
Cape Verde Faces a Tough World Cup Test
World Cup debutants Cape Verde are one of the lowest-ranked nations in the competition. The Blue Sharks are 65th in the FIFA rankings and are the second-smallest nation ever to compete at the tournament.
Cape Verde confirmed their place at the 2026 World Cup after topping their qualifying group. They secured top spot in Group D after a 3-0 win against Eswatini in October.
Bubista’s side followed that victory with a four-match winless streak, including a 4-2 loss to Chile in the FIFA Series. The Blue Sharks ended that downturn in form with a 3-0 friendly triumph over Serbia.
The Atlantic islanders finished their World Cup preparations with another 3-0 friendly win against Bermuda. Willy Semedo struck in the first half before Garry Rodrigues and Nuno Da Costa scored in the second period.
Predicted Starting Lineups & Team News
Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Cucurella; Fabian Ruiz, Rodri, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal, Alex Baena
Attackers Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Víctor Muñoz are doubtful for the Cape Verde match. The trio missed the final warm-up friendly against Peru due to injury.
Barcelona forward Yamal has not featured since April following a hamstring injury. Luis de la Fuente was hopeful the attacker would be available for the Cape Verde game and said, "If nothing changes, he could be ready to play on June 15.
"It doesn't mean that for sure he will play, we'll see. Maybe a few minutes, maybe just practice so he can improve his condition for the second match. We will have to evaluate."
Cape Verde (4-2-3-1): Vozinha; Wagner Pina, Diney Borges, Roberto Lopes, Sidny Lopes Cabral; Telmo Arcanjo, Kevin Lenini; Ryan Mendes, Jamiro Monteiro, Jovane Cabral; Nuno Da Costa
Goalkeeper Bruno Varela missed out on a World Cup spot following surgery in April.
Winger Ryan Mendes is expected to start against Spain. The Cape Verde captain is the nation’s leading goalscorer with 22 goals in 96 internationals.