Cape Verde surge into knockouts after three draws

Cape Verde became the first team since Chile in 1998 to qualify for a World Cup knockout round with three group draws, earning second place in Group H and a July 3 clash against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami.

Cape Verde needed only a moment of nerve at the right time—and then they refused to sit back.

Their passage to the knockout round is already the kind of football story that travels further than the scoreboard. A nation of just over 500,000 people advanced after three draws, becoming the first side since Chile in 1998 to do so. With Spain beating Uruguay in Guadalajara, Bubista’s team knew a draw against Saudi Arabia would be enough. They didn’t treat the second half like a job to protect a point. They played the kind of soccer that has made Cape Verde one of the tournament’s most magnetic outsiders. and the reward is clean and immediate: second place in Group H.

That position sets up the next chapter—Lionel Messi and defending champions Argentina on July 3rd in Miami.

Spain, meanwhile, did what it was expected to do and topped their group. Luis de la Fuente made a couple of tweaks from the lineup that thrashed Saudi Arabia this past Sunday. Álex Baena showed the depth Spain still has as they bounced back after a lacklustre start that left Lamine Yamal frustrated. Spain’s opening goal from Baena stood and ended up being the winner.

Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera, replaced at halftime, became the first goalkeeper since 1966 to commit three errors leading to goals in a World Cup. Uruguay’s stunning failure opened the door for one of the tournament’s greatest stories.

Cape Verde’s own route has been built around far more than a single hero. even though their captain-figure leadership in goal and their centre-back control have carried the load. Led by goalkeeper Vozinha and the excellent centre-back pairing of Diney Borges and Roberto Lopes. they looked organized even when the numbers and odds suggested they should be unraveling. Kevin Pina was again excellent in midfield — one of the heroes in their match against Uruguay — but Bubista has kept the focus on the whole squad. That unity showed up match after match. and the sense of inner belief kept rising along with Vozinha’s follower count.

Norway also kept moving toward its own round-of-32 setup, but with a different kind of confidence.

Stale Solbakken made 10 changes from their last match after they had already secured a spot in the round of 32. Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard were rested. The decision looked deliberate. even predictable. after Haaland had earlier dumped cold water on one of the group-stage highlights from four days ago.

“Honestly, I couldn’t care too much about that,” Haaland said. “We managed to get through (to the knockout round), which is incredible. I couldn’t care too much about that game (vs. France). They’re probably going to win against us. They’re probably going to win the whole tournament.”

France’s day carried a sharper edge before it even turned into football decisions. Head coach Didier Deschamps returned home after the death of his mother, leaving assistant coach Guy Stéphan in charge. Before that shift, Les Blues—resting ailing Arsenal defender William Saliba—continued to flex after a nervy opener against Senegal.

A first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembélé temporarily pulled attention away from Kylian Mbappé and reignited another Ballon D’or push for the trophy’s current holder. There was also a mangled Norway penalty attempt. with Jorgen Strand Larsen again proving the stutter-step run-up is not for everyone. Still, there wasn’t much to read into the outcome. Norway were comfortable with their round of 32 matchup with Ivory Coast and chose safety over a showdown for Group I supremacy.

The atmosphere around the Group I picture was also shaped by stakes that could not be negotiated away.

For Sadio Mané and Senegal, the mission was threefold: score early, score often, and don’t concede. They got the start they needed. A goal from Sunderland’s Habib Diarra came in the fourth minute. and an Iraqi red card soon after gave Senegal something close to the perfect launching point. In front of an incredibly boisterous pro-Iraq crowd in Toronto, though, the night turned difficult for the giants of Africa.

Senegal went into half-time up 1-0, but the reality around them mattered as well. Senegal were eliminated from the tournament due to their insufficient goal difference as a third-place team with only three points.

Pape Thiaw then turned to his star-laden bench for difference-makers. Pape Gueye. Iliman Ndiaye. and Nicolas Jackson were used to disrupt what was already becoming a beleaguered evening for Iraq. which was wilting with one less compatriot on the pitch. A Gueye brace and a Ndiaye marker finished the job—four goals for Senegal in the second half—and suggested the coaching choices landed.

Thiaw got what he wanted in the end, but the math still denied Senegal the knockout stage. In a group with one heavyweight, France, and an up-and-comer in Norway, third place was always a possibility for the AFCON finalists—champions depending on who you ask.

Ousmane Dembélé’s own spotlight kept growing as France’s attack took control. It’s not often Mbappé becomes a side character in a France match, but Dembélé dominated the Norwegian defence. The French attack has been the best in the tournament thus far.

The evening also offered a direct reminder of how quickly roles can swing. Gueye started against France and Norway but was dropped to the bench against Iraq. That was a decision that paid off when it mattered. and the Villarreal midfielder helped Senegal become the first African nation to score five goals in a World Cup match.

There’s another layer, too, around France’s choices that Haaland’s comments only made louder. Solbakken had effectively offered the blueprint of how the tournament is being managed: protect qualification. rotate. and keep key players fresh. France. meanwhile. had to absorb grief in the middle of competitive work—Deschamps returning home after his mother’s death. with Guy Stéphan left to steer.

For Senegal, the story ended cruelly. For Norway, it read like a calm execution of a plan. For Cape Verde, it has turned into something else entirely: a team that advanced with three draws is now one game away from facing the greatest player of all time and the defending champions.

And for Spain, the group-stage corrections are already moving them forward—Baena’s goal as the winner, Luis de la Fuente’s tweaks doing their job, and another reminder that Uruguay’s collapse came at the cost of Muslera’s first three-error World Cup spell since 1966.

More trophies could be heading Ousmane Dembélé’s way.

Atletico Madrid’s man may have rendered himself undroppable following two sterling performances after not playing against Cape Verde to start the tournament.

MISRYOUM World Cup 2026 Cape Verde Bubista Spain Uruguay Luis de la Fuente Álex Baena Lionel Messi Argentina Norway Stale Solbakken Erling Haaland Martin Odegaard France Didier Deschamps Ousmane Dembélé Senegal Sadio Mané Iraq Habib Diarra