Cape Verde’s – Lamine Yamal ended a sluggish start with his first World Cup goal, while Mikel Oyarzabal delivered a match-winning burst as Spain left Atlanta Stadium with a victory. Cape Verde kept their Cinderella momentum going with a 2-2 draw against Uruguay, and Iran goa
Lamine Yamal didn’t ease his way into the 2026 World Cup. He arrived at it.
One week after Spain were side-eyed following a Cape Verde draw. the 18-year-old opened his tournament account with a simple finish at the back post. The goal may have been neat. but the feeling behind it wasn’t—Yamal’s celebration carried relief and something closer to a message: enough already. For a player who failed to start on Matchday 1. it was the kind of moment that changes the temperature around a team.
Spain’s statement wasn’t built on Yamal alone. Mikel Oyarzabal—criticised for doing nothing against Capo Verde—responded with real force, scoring two goals and adding an assist. And in the middle of it, captain Rodri kept the balance steady, calmly dictating flow and pace as Spain pressed forward.
The backdrop to Spain’s afternoon was a Saudi Arabia side that knew it would be tough—but couldn’t find a way to survive Spain’s tempo. Georgios Donis’ team was disorganized defensively, leaving gaps for the Spanish attack to exploit. The ball sat in Saudi Arabia’s end for much of the game. and despite long spells of pressure. it never truly turned into a breakthrough. Spain’s victory felt like more than three points; it looked like a team remembering its identity.
At halftime, Luis de la Fuente made a decisive call, pulling Yamal and Oyarzabal. It wasn’t the sort of move fans always love. but it was framed as necessary—like someone managing expensive glassware. When the final whistle came, Spain didn’t just leave with goals. They left with reassurance: not the look of favourites stumbling through doubt, but the look of contenders acting like contenders.
Cape Verde refuse to shrink back
Cape Verde didn’t get the memo that says debutant teams should be content with participation.
Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Uruguay secured another statement result for the island nation after the week before had already put them on the map. In a World Cup that always seems to produce a Cinderella story. Cape Verde are becoming something closer to a problem—one that other teams now have to plan for instead of dismiss as novelty.
Against Uruguay, Cape Verde showed resilience, bravery, physicality and belief. They looked comfortable in chaos, and they found ways to thrive in moments when it would be easy to fold. Uruguay, meanwhile, will need to ask how they let it slip. The consolation is that Spain dropped points against the same opposition. but the group now sits finely balanced. pushing everyone toward a tense final round of fixtures.
After Argentina’s training session on Sunday. midfielder Enzo Fernández was asked about the growing competitiveness of underdog nations at this tournament. He answered with clarity: “(Soccer) is becoming more even and I feel like this World Cup is more competitive. ” before adding: “Nowadays. there are many teams that are surprising and having a great group stage.”.
Cape Verde’s week makes that line harder to argue with. They aren’t arriving as a novelty anymore. They’ve become one of the tournament’s most compelling disruptions.
Belgium had the ball. Iran had Beiranvand.
Belgium looked set up for control, but the day refused to turn into goals.
Kevin De Bruyne tried to steer play, Romelu Lukaku hovered in the box, and Youri Tielemans carried the threat—but Belgium couldn’t convert momentum into the breakthrough. Their possession came with frustration, and the match kept feeling like a punchline that never landed.
Iran, by contrast, treated possession like it was optional. Under Amir Ghalenoei, the Iranians stayed compact and patient, waiting for something to open rather than chasing it. They ended up with under 30 per cent possession, but they played as if it was a deliberate choice.
Mehdi Taremi thought he had the warning served early. Twenty-five minutes in, he slipped the ball past Thibaut Courtois—only for VAR to call it offside. Belgium couldn’t afford the kind of reminder Iran handed them, but it still never translated into the breakthrough Belgium were searching for.
That’s where Alireza Beiranvand took over.
With Belgium pressing for a way through. the Iran goalkeeper—33 years old. with a profile that includes more than 80 international caps and appearances at both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups—made sure it never arrived. He was excellent from the opening exchanges, including a full-stretch stop to deny Maxim De Cuyper from point-blank range.
By full-time, Belgium had the ball and Iran had the point, with Beiranvand standing as the difference-maker. It’s the kind of night that makes the broader trend hard to ignore: goalkeeping has been a recurring theme at this World Cup. Cape Verde’s Vozinha went from 56,000 Instagram followers to over 14 million after his heroics against Spain. Curaçao’s Eloy Room produced a 15-save masterclass against Ecuador. Now Beiranvand adds his name to the growing list of keepers rewriting the script.
The tournament’s “big moments” also found their way onto other stories.
For Cape Verde. Kevin Pina scored the first-ever World Cup goal in the nation’s history. firing in a long-range golazo that will be remembered as one of the tournament’s best free-kicks. And despite missing Cape Verde’s opener against Spain due to visa issues. Vozinha’s mother was finally in Miami on Sunday to watch her son face Uruguay. The viral story that surrounded her absence turned into a full-circle moment as she watched him live in the tournament spotlight.
Sportsnet at the World Cup
In a Group G clash at BC Place in Vancouver between Egypt and New Zealand, Mo Salah found the breakthrough and the stadium erupted. Sportsnet reporter John Molinaro was on site to capture the roar from the ground, framing it as a reminder of the atmosphere Canada can deliver as a World Cup host.
Key individual takeaways
Lamine Yamal became the youngest player in history to score at both a Euros and World Cup. and he did it with the kind of comfort that suggests Spain’s ceiling can stretch high. Mikel Oyarzabal, aged 29, flipped matches quickly with two goals and an assist inside 25 minutes, turning dominance into damage.
Mo Salah, meanwhile, secured a first-ever World Cup victory for Egypt with a composed finish into the bottom corner, underlining his big-moment reputation.
And for Iran, Alireza Beiranvand put on a clinic against Belgium, making seven big saves to keep a clean sheet—adding another goalkeeper performance that feels like it belongs on a highlights reel.
In this World Cup, nothing settles. Spain remembered who they are. Cape Verde kept refusing to disappear. And in Belgium-Iran, the point was claimed the way it’s meant to be claimed—by a keeper deciding the story at the most crucial time.
2026 World Cup Spain Lamine Yamal Mikel Oyarzabal Rodri Cape Verde Uruguay Kevin Pina Vozinha Iran Belgium Alireza Beiranvand Mo Salah Egypt New Zealand Enzo Fernandez