Group H: Spain Leads, Cape Verde Reach Historic Playoffs
The final round of matches in Group H of the 2026 World Cup has taken place. Spain defeated Uruguay by a narrow margin, while Cape Verde secured a historic result with a draw against Saudi Arabia.
The clash between Spain and Uruguay was intensely contested. The fate of the match was decided by a single goal scored by Baena in the 42nd minute. Uruguay attempted to equalize for the remainder of the game, but the Spaniards maintained their lead.
In the final minutes of the match, Uruguay's Canobio received a red card and left the pitch. Thus, Spain won 1-0, finishing the group in first place with 7 points.
World Cup 2026. Group H, Matchday 3
Uruguay — Spain — 0:1
Goal: Baena, 42.
Uruguay: Muslera (Rocket, 46), Varela, Cáceres, Olivera, Sanabria (Rodríguez, 70), Ugarte (de la Cruz, 45), Bentancur, Valverde (Viñas, 57), Canobio, Araújo, Nunes.
Spain: Simón, Llorente, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella, Merino (Olmo, 60), Rodri, Pedri (Ruiz, 60), Yamal (Williams, 76), Baena (Pino, 66), Oyarzabal (Ferran, 76).
Yellow Cards: Baena, 46; Sanabria, 54; Varela, 58; de la Cruz, 90+3.
Red Card: Canobio, 90+5.
In the second match of the group, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia played to a goalless draw. Although both teams created chances, the goalkeepers remained unbeaten.
Cape Verde — Saudi Arabia — 0:0
Cape Verde: Vozinha, Pina (Moreira, 90+4), Roberto Lopes, Borges, Paulo, Lenini, Mendes (Rodrigues, 71), Duarte, Monteiro (Duarte, 71), Semedo (Varela, 61), Livramento (da Costa, 61).
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Al Amri, At Tambakti (Lajami, 33), Bushal (Al Harbi, 82), Madash (Al Hamdan, 66), Nasser Al-Dawsari, Al Haybari (Juvair, 46), Salem Al-Dawsari (Ash Shamat, 66), Kanno, Al Buraykan.
Yellow Cards: Abdulhamid, 4; Pina, 9; N. Al-Dawsari, 67; Al Buraykan, 90+3.
Following this result, Cape Verde took second place in the group with 3 points. The team achieved a historic milestone by reaching the playoff stage in their first-ever World Cup appearance.
Final standings of Group H:
Spain — 7 points, goal difference 5:0;
Cape Verde — 3 points, goal difference 2:2;
Uruguay — 2 points, goal difference 3:4;
Saudi Arabia — 2 points, goal difference 1:5.
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