Highlights for Cape Verde 0-0 Saudi Arabia in 2026 FIFA World Cup Match

Following these results, Spain leads the group with seven points, while Cape Verde sits in second place with three. Uruguay and Saudi Arabia have been eliminated with two points. Spain now awaits its next opponent (currently Austria), while Cape Verde faced Argentina. We’re set for a Messi vs. Vozinha showdown!

Laros Duarte received the pass and Pina fired a powerful shot, but it went straight at the defense. Moments later, Garry Rodrigues got a shot off after receiving a pass inside the box, but sent the ball wide once again! And there will be five minutes of stoppage time. Both teams have five more minutes to see their dream either realized or dashed!

Nasser Al-Dawsari unleashed a powerful long-range shot that struck the defense. Shortly after, Kevin Pina tried his luck with a powerful shot from distance, but it went wide. Then, Nuno da Costa received a pass from Garry inside the box and fired wide!

Garry Rodrigues received a pass from Laros Duarte up front and struck the ball hard, but it went straight at the defense once again. Shortly after, Saudi Arabia made another substitution, with Moteb Al-Harbi coming on for Nawaf Boushal.

Pico Lopes managed to get a touch on Laros Duarte's cross, sending the ball wide. Shortly after, João Paulo received a pass upfield and struck a powerful shot from distance, but it went straight into the defense, with his effort blocked once again.

Cape Verde made two substitutions at that point, with Jamiro Monteiro and Ryan Mendes coming off for Garry Rodrigues and Laros Duarte. Following a long ball forward, Nuno da Costa received the pass, surged ahead, and found Laros Duarte breaking into the box; Duarte struck the ball hard, but Al-Owais parried it away to save Saudi Arabia!

Now it was Saudi Arabia's turn to make two changes, with Salem Al-Dawsari and Sultan Mandash leaving for Abdullah Al-Hamdan and Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat. Soon after entering Al-Shamat kicked hard, but into Vozinha's hands!

Confirming that a second substitution was made, with Semedo leaving and Hélio Varela entering. Cabo Verde is managing to string passes together and is more relaxed in this second half, possibly already aware of the result in the other game!

Deroy Duarte received the pass and shot powerfully from distance once again, but wide. Following this, Cabo Verde made a substitution, with Dailon Livramento leaving and Nuno da Costa entering. Cabo Verde, in the second half, managed to apply pressure in attack!

Kevin Pina received the pass at the edge of the box and shot hard, sending the ball wide to the right of the goal, almost hitting the top corner! Shortly after, Ryan Mendes received a pass from Wagner Pina and shot low, but straight at the defense.

And the second half is already starting at a faster pace than the entire first! Al-Juwayr crossed the ball into the area for Al-Brikan to head powerfully, but wide to the right of the goal. Soon after, Wagner Pina received the pass and crossed low to Jamiro Monteiro, who shot low, but Al-Owais caught it in the right corner!

And now for the group: in the other game, Spain is winning against Uruguay 1-0, with a good by Alex Baena, following a mistake by Muslera. With the current results, Spain leads with seven points and Cape Verde, with three, is in second place in the group! Uruguay, with two points, tied with Saudi Arabia, is currently being eliminated!

We'll have six more minutes of added time in this first half. Al-Amri received the pass on the right and crossed the ball into the box for Mohamed Kanno, who headed it, but Vozinha caught the ball in the middle of the goal, without giving a rebound!

João Paulo received a cross from Jamiro Monteiro and managed a header, but it hit the Saudi Arabian defense. Shortly after, Semedo had another chance, shooting from distance, but sending the ball over the goal, wide.

Monteiro attempted a shot after receiving the pass up front, but his effort was blocked by the defense once again. Moments later, João Paulo received the pass and crossed, but the ball was blocked by the defense for a corner. The corner kick was taken into the box, and the defense cleared it away.

Ali Lajami went down after a collision inside the penalty area. The defender had to leave the field, and we have the first substitution of the match, where he left for Hassan Al-Tambakti to enter. The game slows down even more because of this stoppage.

Despite some attacking moves from both teams, the game is slow-paced with little happening on the pitch. The tension experienced by both teams, who have a chance to qualify for the next phase, hinders their play.

The game has now been paused for the players to hydrate, with play resuming shortly after. We're having a tense first half, where both teams end up making many passing errors, missing chances to speed up the game.

On the left, Cape Verde won a corner kick from a Semedo cross attempt, with Al-Olwais parrying the ball for another corner, which was then taken close to the play and cleared by the Saudi Arabia defense. Cape Verde is starting to press in attack!

Salem Al-Dawsari received the pass on the left and managed a shot (or attempted a cross), but it was blocked by the defense. Salem becomes Saudi Arabia's main weapon in the game, forcing all plays down the left flank.

The game remains tense and, so far, there haven't been any shots on goal. With the draw here and the 0-0 draw in the other group, AS OF NOW, Spain is in first place, Uruguay in second, Cape Verde in third, and Saudi Arabia in fourth in the group.

The game continues in a tense moment with some hard tackles resulting in fouls from both teams. Saudi Arabia begins to try to maintain possession in the attacking half, exchanging passes in this early stage of the game.

The national anthems have been played and the players are taking to the pitch at NRG Stadium for the first half of Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, in the third and decisive round of the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. You can follow all the excitement, the plays, and the game in real time here at VAVEL!

Currently, the following teams have already qualified for the next phase of the World Cup: Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, Morocco, United States, Australia, Germany, Ivory Coast, Netherlands, Japan, France, and Norway. Among the best third-placed teams, which will make eight qualifiers, we have Sweden, Ecuador, and Bosnia already qualified. With five teams yet to play, we have Paraguay (4 points), Senegal, Croatia, South Korea, Algeria, Scotland (all with three points), Cape Verde, Belgium (two points), and Congo (one point) vying for spots.

Tomorrow, the group stage of the World Cup finally ends. At 5 PM, in Group L, we will have Panama vs. England and Croatia vs. Ghana. At 7:30 PM, in Group K, we will have Colombia vs. Portugal and DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan. And, in Group J, we will have Algeria vs. Austria and Jordan vs. Argentina, at 10 PM, closing the group stage.

We're in the second round of matches this Friday at the World Cup. Earlier today, in Group I, France thrashed Norway 4-1 and Senegal beat Iraq 5-0. Later today, one hour after the end of tonight's match, we'll have two more games to decide Group G: New Zealand vs. Belgium and Egypt vs. Iran.

On the other side, Saudi Arabia is in its seventh World Cup, already counting 2026, having participated in 1994, 98, 2002, 2006, 2018 and 2022. The team has played 20 games, with four wins, three draws and 13 losses, in addition to 15 goals scored and 49 conceded. Saudi Arabia's best campaign in history was in 1994, in its debut, when it passed the group stage and fell in the round of 16 to Sweden, losing the match 3-1.

We're witnessing history, friends! Cape Verde, in its first-ever World Cup appearance, has two points, with two draws, two goals scored and two conceded. Despite being a World Cup debutant, Cape Verde could secure a place in the Round of 32 if they win today – a historic achievement!

And since we're confirming names, let's move on to the refereeing team! François Letexir from France will be the referee, with Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni, also from France, as assistant referees. VAR will be handled by Marco Di Bello, who comes from Italy.

For the next game, Georgios Donis will have the following names to use during the match against Cape Verde: Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Ahmed Al-Kassar, Ali Majrashi, Moteb Al-Harbi, Jehad Thakri, Hassan Kadesh, Ali Lajami, Ayman Yahya, Ziyaed Aljohani, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, Ala'a AL-Hejji, Musab Al Juwayr, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Abdullah Al-Hamdan and Saleh Al-Shehri.

For tonight's game, Bubista will have the following players to use during the match against Saudi Arabia: Márcio Rosa, CJ dos Santos, Stopira, Logan Costa, Steven Moreira, Kelvin Pires, Garry Rodrigues, Laros Duarte, Yannick Semedo, Hélio Varela, Jovane Cabral, Nuno da Costa and Gilson Tavares.

With a 4-4-2 formation, Saudi Arabia is lined up for tonight's World Cup match against Cape Verde with: Al-Owais, Boushal, Al-Amri, Altambakti and Nasser Al-Dawsari; Abdulhamid, Al-Khaibari, Kanno and Salem Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan and Mandash.