Spain target Uruguay after Cabo Verde stumble in World Cup opener

Spain’s opener against Cabo Verde ended as a warning rather than a statement, a scoreless draw that exposed how far possession can still be from control. In Atlanta, before 67,640 spectators, Spain dominated the ball but struggled to turn that advantage into clear chances, and Ferran Torres hit the crossbar in the first half as the European champion failed to break down a debutant side of just over 500,000 people.

Lamine Yamal was brought on in the 70th minute, and his first touch immediately lifted the crowd, even as Luis de la Fuente’s staff continued to manage his return carefully through the group stage. The plan inside the Spanish camp was to reintegrate the FC Barcelona forward gradually, but the team still leaned on his ability to change the rhythm of a match that had become increasingly flat in the final third.

Yamal did not try to dress up the result. “Empatar un partido que había que ganar, nos picó,” he said after the draw, a blunt assessment that matched Spain’s own internal standards. The message was clear: a point against Cabo Verde, however historic for the African side, did not meet the bar for a team expected to control Group H and move efficiently toward the knockout rounds.

That urgency now shifted toward Uruguay, whose own debut against Arabia Saudí also ended level. With the group still tight, the closing match could shape both the standings and qualification, and MARCA indicated that Yamal could even start against Uruguay if de la Fuente chose to sharpen Spain’s attack from the opening whistle.

The teenager’s importance was already underscored by what he had done earlier in the tournament. Against Arabia Saudí, Yamal scored Spain’s first goal of the World Cup 2026, and at 18 years and 343 days he moved into the top ten youngest scorers in World Cup history. The RFEF said the goal also made him the second youngest player in history, after Pelé, to score in both a World Cup and a European Championship. For Spain, the lesson from Cabo Verde was not simply that Yamal matters, but that even his talent will not be enough unless the rest of the attack becomes sharper before Uruguay.