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There’s apparently another game taking place at the same time, so please follow along with Tom Lutz.
The bracket in progress …
The upside of having a 48-team tournament is seeing teams like Cape Verde show up and surprise.
The downside is having some seriously uneven competitive balance.
Not that US people should be complaining. With all due respect to Bosnia and potential round of 16 opponents Egypt, Iran and Third-Place Side TBD, the co-host’s path is a bit easier than, say, Germany and France, who’ll face off July 4 in Philadelphia (Liberty Bell special!) unless they falter against a third-place team. The winner of that murderous bracket would likely face the Netherlands after they cruise past Morocco and either South Africa or Canada.
England’s reward for winning the group and their first-round match would be a date with Mexico … in Mexico City.
If there is no draw in this game and if Spain beat Uruguay (or if various tiebreakers fall the right way), the winner here will take second place in the group and face … Argentina. Congratulations? They might prefer taking third and potentially facing Egypt or Iran, then the USA.
Your snacks for this game are …
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Cape Verde: Chicken and chorizo croquettes, Strela beer or maybe Super Bock.
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Saudi Arabia: Shawarma wraps, mango juice, lemon soda and Arabic coffee.
Note to self: It’s time to visit my cousins in Boston and swing by a Cape Verdean restaurant.
I have simpler advice, though, for people in the UK looking for traditional American snacks. Just go to Five Guys.
Lineups
Cape Verde: Vozinha; Paulo, Diney, Pico, W. Pina; K. Pina; W. Semedo, Monteiro, D. Duarte, Mendes; Livramento
Saudi Arabia: Al-Owais; Boushal, Al-Amri, Al-Tambakti, Abdulhamid; S. Al-Dawsari, N. Al-Dawsari, Al-Khaibari, Mandash; Kanno, Al-Buraikan
Tons of changes for Cape Verde:
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Paulo and Wagner Pina get their first starts, replacing the suspended Sidny Lopes Cabral and fellow fullback Steven Moreira.
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Willy Semedo is the third player to start at left mid after Jovane Cabral in Game 1 and Garry Rodrigues in Game 2.
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Livramento returns as the starting striker after Benchimol played vs. Uruguay.
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Kevin Pina and Jamiro Monteiro get their third starts in central midfield, but Deroy Duarte starts ahead of Game 1 starter Laros Duarte and Game 2 starter Telmo Arcanjo.
For Saudi Arabia, the players rotating into the lineup are Nawaf Boushal, Sultan Mandash and Mohamed Kanno. Mandash has not played yet in this tournament; Kanno started the opener and was a sub in the second game. Ali Lajami is out, as are Moteb Al-Harbi and Musab Al-Juwayr.
Players to watch
CAPE VERDE
Ryan Mendes is set to become the first Cape Verde player with 100 caps. He’s also the only player with more 20 goals in their national team history.
Second on the all-time appearances list is the new Instagram sensation Vozinha, who is set to pick up his 93rd cap.
We still haven’t seen Villarreal defender Logan Costa, who suffered an ACL injury in preseasons last summer. He’s on the roster, but that may be a bit of optimism. But another accomplished defender, Wagner Pina (Trabzonspor), is in the lineup tonight.
Kevin Pina (Krasnodar) and Hélio Varela (Maccabi Tel Aviv) were the goal-scorers vs. Uruguay, the latter netting the equalizer as a substitute after staying on the bench in the 0-0 draw with Spain. Varela will be on the bench tonight.
Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew) was the 2024 defender of the year in Major League Soccer, but he has moved to the bench tonight.
And we have to mention the Dublin-born Shamrock Rovers defender Pico Lopes.
SAUDI ARABIA
The only player on the roster who isn’t based in the lucrative Saudi Pro League is right back Saud Abdulhamid (Lens).
No forwards or midfielders have scored for Saudi Arabia through two games. Defender Abdulelah Al-Amri had the goal against Uruguay.
Left midfielder and captain Salem Al-Dawsari has 113 caps and 27 goals in his international career.
Goalkeeper Mohammad Al-Owais was in goal for the 2022 win over Argentina and earned a rating of 9 from The Guardian’s staff for the opening game here, a 1-1 draw vs. Uruguay.
Preamble
A couple of groups have a game like this — one team (Cape Verde in this case, Belgium later) will advance with a win and will be very good shape with a draw, while the other team (Saudi Arabia now, New Zealand later) will either win and advance or fail to win and fly home.
Cape Verde have already posted one of the greatest underdog performances in World Cup history, managing draws against traditional powerhouses Spain and Uruguay, the former on a stupendous shot-stopping stint by the 40-year-old goalkeeper they call Vozinha. His Instagram following has grown from about 50,000 to a current total of 16.7 million, and increase of more than 33,000%.
The island nation, which lies 600km west of Senegal, had never made it to the final tournament until this year. They’ve done so in an ideal situation, playing in front of the substantial diaspora in the United States.
I have to mention a quick personal note on Saudi Arabia. In 1994, I repeatedly called the phone number for World Cup tickets. When I got through, I basically asked which game I could get. “How about Belgium vs. Saudi Arabia?” they said. “Great,” I said. “Let’s do it.” So my then-girlfriend and I traveled up to Washington, where I would end up living four years later, to see two teams of complete strangers as far as I knew.
And I just happened to see the best goal of the tournament, with Said Al-Owairan doing his impression of Maradona vs. England. (The *good* goal, not the Hand of God.)
But that’s the last time Saudi Arabia have reached the knockout rounds, despite stunning Argentina 2-1 in the two teams’ 2022 opener.
Lest we forget – Saudi Arabia will host this event in 2034.
This is the first matchup between two countries separated by the width of Africa and a few hundred miles of water.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s your initial briefing on this matchup, courtesy of Graham Ruthven’s daily watch guide:
What to watch for
Cape Verde have been one of the best underdog stories of the World Cup so far and have given themselves a strong chance of making it out of Group H. But can the Blue Sharks impose their own game on an opponent after playing with their backs to the wall against Uruguay and Spain?
Saudi Arabia started their tournament with an admirable draw against Uruguay, but haven’t won a World Cup game since 2022 when they memorably got the better of Lionel Messi and Argentina. Georgios Donis must get more out of his attacking players to make the knockout rounds.
Player to watch: Vozinha, Cape Verde – The 40-year-old goalkeeper has been one of the unexpected stars of the World Cup and will have at least one more opportunity to demonstrate his shot-stopping ability.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/jun/26/cape-verde-v-saudi-arabia-world-cup-2026-live
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