World Cup 2026, day 5: Historic Cape Verde holds Spain to 0-0; Belgium, Uruguay and Iran also share points
Cape Verde writes history with a point against title candidate Spain. Furthermore, 1-1 with Belgium–Egypt, Saudi Arabia–Uruguay and Iran–New Zealand; day with rarely seen balance in the groups.
Day 5 of the 2026 World Cup produced four draws, but the biggest surprise came in Atlanta: debutant Cape Verde held Spain to 0-0 and immediately wrote history.
Spain – Cape Verde (0-0), Atlanta Stadium Cape Verde, the second smallest country at this World Cup by population, scored a point against Spain in its very first World Cup match. The last debutant to win a point at a World Cup was Iceland in 2018; the last team to win its World Cup debut was Senegal in 2002. The gap in the world rankings could hardly be wider: Spain are second, Cape Verde 67th — the ninth-largest gap ever in a World Cup poster. Goalkeeper Vozinha (40 years and 12 days) contributed to the stunt: he kept a clean sheet and thus became the third oldest goalkeeper with a clean sheet at a men's World Cup, after Peter Shilton (40 years, 281 days) and Dino Zoff (40 years, 130 days). He converted all seven attempts on goal for Spain. Striking: since Spain's last World Cup goal (against Japan in 2022), La Roja has already produced 49 shots and 2,500 passes at the World Cup without scoring, according to Opta. Striker Mikel Oyarzabal noted a curious statistic: he is the first player since 1966 not to touch a single ball in the first 30 minutes of a World Cup match. Substitute Lamine Yamal only came in the line in the 71st minute, but still had the most of anyone with five successful dribbles.
Belgium – Egypt (1-1), Seattle Stadium Egypt returned with a point against Belgium during its World Cup return. For the Pharaohs it is now 0 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats in World Cup opening matches. Belgium last lost a World Cup opener in 1986 (against Mexico). Mo Salah, who turned 34 on Monday, provided the assist for Emam Ashour's goal, making him the first African male player ever to have a World Cup goodie (assist or goal) on his birthday. Romelu Lukaku came on in the 66th minute and equalized 22 seconds later, ending a dry run for Belgium of 325 World Cup minutes without a goal (since Michy Batshuayi's goal in the 2022 group opener). Remarkable: this was exactly Belgium's third shot on target for the fourth World Cup match in a row. Egypt is still waiting for its first World Cup victory (total 0-3-5).
Saudi Arabia – Uruguay (1-1), Miami Stadium Saudi Arabia started with a point against Uruguay and is now 1-2-4 in World Cup openers; that one win was against Argentina in 2022. The Saudis also scored the opening goal in a World Cup match for the first time since 1994 and, when they open the score, are now 2-1-1. Uruguay rescued a point thanks to Maximiliano Araújo in the 80th minute: 15 of the 55 Uruguayan group stage goals at a World Cup came in the 80th minute or later. Araújo is the first Uruguayan since Diego Forlán (2002) to score in his World Cup debut. The absence of Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani was also striking: for the first time since 2002, Uruguay played a World Cup without the duo.
Iran – New Zealand (1-1), Los Angeles Stadium Iran and New Zealand shared the points after an open match in Los Angeles. Unique tournament image: there are now three groups in which all four teams are on one point - this has never happened before in World Cup history. Moreover, it has been 68 years since there were four draws on one World Cup day. New Zealand had eight shots on target, a national record at a World Cup. MichaelBoxall became the oldest ever World Cup player for the Kiwis at 37 years and 302 days. With Iran, Ehsan Hajsafi recorded a milestone as the first Iranian with 10 World Cup matches played.
In short: a World Cup day full of balance, records and a resounding scoop for Cape Verde, which immediately held its own against top country Spain in its debut.
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