Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place from June 15 to 26, 2026.[1] The group consisted of Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay.
Spain finished at the top of the group with two group game wins, allowing them to advance to the round of 32. Cape Verde finished as runners-up, tying all three of their group games. Cape Verde is the first World Cup debutant to advance to the knockout stages since Slovakia in 2010.
Uruguay finished third in the group and were eliminated, as their performance meant it would be impossible for them to be among the top eight third-place teams. Saudi Arabia finished fourth based on goal difference, and were also eliminated.[2]
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings[3][4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025[nb 1] | June 2026 | |||||||||
| H1 |  Spain |
1 | UEFA | UEFA Group E winner | November 18, 2025 | 17th | 2022 | Winner (2010) | 1 | 2 |
| H2 |  Cape Verde |
4 | CAF | CAF Group D winner | October 13, 2025 | 1st | — | — | 68 | 67 |
| H3 |  Saudi Arabia |
3 | AFC | AFC fourth round Group B winner | October 14, 2025 | 7th | 2022 | Round of 16 (1994) | 60 | 61 |
| H4 |  Uruguay |
2 | CONMEBOL | CONMEBOL round robin fourth place | September 4, 2025 | 15th | 2022 | Winner (1930, 1950) | 16 | 16 |
Notes
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Cape Verde |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Uruguay |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2[a] | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 2[a] |
In the round of 32:[2]
- The winner of Group H, Spain, advanced to play the runner-up of Group J, Austria.
- The runner-up of Group H, Cape Verde, advanced to play the winner of Group J, Argentina.
Matches
All times listed are local.[1]
Spain vs Cape Verde
The teams had never met before. The fixture marked Cape Verde's debut at the FIFA World Cup. The country was the third-smallest by population to qualify for the tournament, before Curaçao achieved qualification.
In the first half Spain's Ferran Torres hit the bar with a shot from close range after a header back from Marc Cucurella on the left. In the second half Mikel Oyarzabal had a shot blocked by Pico.[6] Late on Diney almost put Cape Verde into the lead when he headed a corner straight at Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón with the game finishing 0–0 and producing one of the biggest shocks of the World Cup, with Vozinha as the Man of the Match for making seven saves in his World Cup debut.[7][8]
| Spain |
0–0 | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 1] |
Spain[9]
|
Cape Verde[9]
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[9] |
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay
The teams had previously faced each other thrice, most recently in Uruguay's 1–0 win at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[11]
In the 41st minute, Saudi Arabia went in front, Hassan Al-Tambakti's header from a corner on the right was parried out by Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera where Abdulelah Al-Amri finished the rebound with his right foot to the net from close range. With ten minutes to go, Maximiliano Araújo scored for Uruguay with a shot from the left after Mohammed Al-Owais had initially made a save to make it 1–1, which also became the final result of the affair.[12]
| Saudi Arabia |
1–1 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
|
[Report 2] |
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Saudi Arabia[13]
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Uruguay[13]
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[13] |
Spain vs Saudi Arabia
The teams have met three times, including their first encounter in Spain's 1–0 group stage victory at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[14] Spain won all matches, most recently a 5–0 friendly in 2012.[15]
The fixture was Saudi Arabia's worst defeat at the World Cup since their 5−0 loss to hosts Russia in 2018, and their third-largest defeat in tournament history, tied with their 4–0 losses against hosts France in 1998 and Ukraine in 2006. Additionally, this marked the third-largest defeat suffered by an Arab team during the tournament's group stage, following Qatar's 6–0 defeat against Canada and Tunisia's 5–1 loss to Sweden.
| Spain |
4–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
|
[Report 3] |
|
Spain[16]
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Saudi Arabia[16]
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[16] |
Uruguay vs Cape Verde
The two teams had never met before.
In the 21st minute, Kevin Pina scored with a low long range right footed free-kick from 30 yards that went through the middle of the defensive wall and into the bottom right corner of the net, it was the first ever goal for Cape Verde in the World Cup Finals. Maximiliano Araújo made it 1–1 the 44th minute when he dived low to head to the net from close range after Sidny Lopes Cabral had headed against his own post.[17] In first-half stoppage time, Agustín Canobbio put Uruguay into a 2–1 lead when he finished low to the net from six yards out after a headed pass from Araújo from the left.
In the 61st minute it was 2–2 when a mistake by Mathías Olivera trying to play the ball across his own box allowed Hélio Varela to intercept and touch the ball to the side of Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera before side footing into the empty net from outside the penalty area on the right.[18]
| Uruguay |
2–2 | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
|
[Report 4] |
|
Uruguay[19]
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Cape Verde[19]
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[19] |
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia
The two teams had never met before.
This result makes Cape Verde the first nation since Chile in 1998 to advance from the group stage by drawing all three games. Additionally, they are only one of the four debutants in World Cup history to secure a spot in the round of 32. In contrast, Saudi Arabia finished bottom of their group for the second consecutive World Cup and were therefore eliminated.
| Cape Verde |
0–0 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 5] |
Cape Verde[20]
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Saudi Arabia[20]
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[20] |
Uruguay vs Spain
The teams had previously met ten times, including twice in the World Cup: a 2–2 final round draw in 1950 and a 0–0 group stage draw in 1990.[21] Their latest encounter was Spain's 2–1 group stage victory at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup to keep their unbeaten head to head record.[22]
This was the only match in Group H played outside of the United States. Uruguay's Agustín Canobbio was sent off with a straight red card. In addition, their 1–0 defeat marked the Uruguayan team's second consecutive exit from the group stage, and made it the sole South American team to fail to advance to the round of 32.
| Uruguay |
0–1 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 6] |
|
Uruguay[23]
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Spain[23]
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[23] |
Discipline
The team conduct ("fair play") score would have been used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams were tied. It would also be used as a tiebreaker for the third-place ranking between groups if the overall records of teams were tied. The score was calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows:[2]
- yellow card: −1 point;
- indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- direct red card: −4 points;
- yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions could be applied to a player or team official in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Score | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Spain |
1 | 1 | −2 | ||||||||||
| Cape Verde |
1 | 2 | 1 | −4 | |||||||||
| Saudi Arabia |
1 | 2 | 3 | −6 | |||||||||
| Uruguay |
2 | 3 | 1 | −9 | |||||||||
References
- ^ a b "FIFA World Cup 26 – Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c "FIFA World Cup 2026 Regulations" (PDF). FIFA. May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 23, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking (19 November 2025)". FIFA. November 19, 2025. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking (11 June 2026)". FIFA. June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
- ^ "Draw Procedures for the FIFA World Cup 2026" (PDF). FIFA. November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ "Spain shocked by Cape Verde, draw 0–0 in their World Cup opener". ESPN. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ^ "Spain 0 Cape Verde 0". BBC Sport. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ^ "Pico Lopes stars as World Cup debutants Cape Verde claim famous draw against Spain". RTE Sport. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Spain v. Cabo Verde" (PDF). FIFA. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f "Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match – every winner". FIFA. June 12, 2026. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia national football team: record v Uruguay". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia 1 Uruguay 1". BBC Sport. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Saudi Arabia v. Uruguay" (PDF). FIFA. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- ^ "Spain vs. Saudi Arabia Head-to-Head in the World Cups". The Soccer World Cups. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "Spain national football team: record v Saudi Arabia". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Spain v. Saudi Arabia" (PDF). FIFA. June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ^ "Cape Verde impress again to earn a draw with Uruguay". RTE Sport. June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- ^ "Urugua 2 Cape Verde 2". BBC Sport. June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Uruguay v. Cabo Verde" (PDF). FIFA. June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Cabo Verde v. Saudi Arabia" (PDF). FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- ^ "Uruguay vs. Spain Head-to-Head in the World Cups". The Soccer World Cups. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "Uruguay national football team: record v Spain". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Tactical Line-up – Group H – Uruguay v. Spain" (PDF). FIFA. June 26, 2026. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
Reports
- ^
- "Spain vs Cabo Verde | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group H – Spain v. Cabo Verde". FIFA. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group H – Spain v. Cabo Verde". FIFA. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^
- "Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group H – Saudi Arabia v. Uruguay". FIFA. Retrieved June 15, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group H – Saudi Arabia v. Uruguay". FIFA. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^
- "Spain vs Saudi Arabia | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group H – Spain v. Saudi Arabia". FIFA. June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group H – Spain v. Saudi Arabia". FIFA. June 22, 2026. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
- ^
- "Uruguay vs Cabo Verde | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group H – Uruguay v. Cabo Verde". FIFA. June 22, 2026. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group H – Uruguay v. Cabo Verde". FIFA. June 22, 2026. Retrieved June 22, 2026.
- ^
- "Cabo Verde vs Saudi Arabia | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group H – Cabo Verde v. Saudi Arabia". FIFA. June 27, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group H – Cabo Verde v. Saudi Arabia". FIFA. June 27, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
- ^
- "Uruguay vs Spain | First Stage | FIFA World Cup 2026". FIFA. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
- "Match Report – Group H – Uruguay v. Spain". FIFA. June 27, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
- "Post match summary report – Group H – Uruguay v. Spain". FIFA. June 27, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.