Picture : Vozinha was the Hero of Cabo Verde against Spain !
World Cup 2026 Statistics – Day 5 (June 15)
Spain vs Cabo Verde 0-0 (Group H)
*Spain have won only 5 of their 17 opening matches in World Cups (5 draws, 7 losses) and only in last five editions (7-0 vs Costa Rica in 2022).
*Spain have not won any of their last 4 matches against African teams, including:
2-2 vs Morocco in 2018 (World Cup),
0-0 (0-3 on penalties) vs Morocco in 2022 (World Cup),
0-0 vs Egypt in 2026 (friendly).
*Spain have not won any of their last 4 matches at the World Cup (3 draws, 1 loss). This is their worst run in the competition since June 1982 – June 1986 (also 4 winless games in a row).
*Spain have only won 3 matches in the World Cup since becoming champions in 2010 (3-0 vs Australia in 2014, 1-0 vs Iran in 2018, 7-0 vs Costa Rica in 2022). In that same period, no fewer than 14 different teams have won more matches.
*Spain have already not scored in last 289 minutes of World Cup play.
*With the incoming as a substitute of Lamine Yamal (aged 18 years and 337 days), he faced Vozinha (40 years and 12 days), creating the largest age difference (21 years and 40 days) between two opposing players debuting in the same match in the history of the World Cup.
The previous record, 19 years and 207 days, was held by David James (England) and Ryad Boudebouz (Algeria) at the 2010 World Cup.
*Lamine Yamal became only 2nd player to represent Spain at World Cups, and 2nd youngest behind Gavi in 2022 (18 years and 110 days).
*Gavi became just the sixth player to appear at two different World Cup tournaments by the age of 21, after Pelé, Norman Whiteside, Rigobert Song, Salomon Olembe and Samuel Eto’o.
*Cabo Verde became the 2nd least populated country (0.49 million) that managed to obtain points in a World Cup, after Iceland (0.33 million) in 2018
(1-1 draw vs Argentina).
*Cabo Verde committed only one foul, the lower number recorded by a team in a World Cup match since 1966 (the first World Cup televised in its entirety). Previous lowest mark:
Costa Rica – 3 fouls vs Germany 5n 2022.
Germany – 3 fouls vs Chile in 1974.
Belgium vs Egypt 1-1 (Group G)
*European nations won only 3 of their 10 matches at this World Cup so far.
*Egypt are still waiting for their first win in World Cups: 3 draws, 5 losses in 8 games.
Only Honduras have more games (9 – 3 draws, 6 losses) among winless countries at World Cups.
*Mohamed Salah became the 7th player to provide an assist in a World Cup on his birthday (34 years), and the first African player to do so.
*Salah became the 6th player in the history of the World Cup to captain his national team on his birthday, after:
Antonio Carbajal (Mexico – 1962)
Michel Platini (France – 1982 and 1986)
Oliver Kahn (Germany – 2002)
Patrick Vieira (France – 2002)
Raúl (Spain – 2006)
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay (Group H)
CONMEBOL has not won any of their first four matches in this 2026 World Cup (two draws and two losses).
This has only happened once before in the history of the World Cup: in 1974, with one draw (Brazil vs Yugoslavia) and three losses (Chile vs West Germany, Argentina vs Poland, and Uruguay vs Netherlands).
Saudi Arabia have conceded goals in their last 17 World Cup matches: 2nd longest such run after Switzerland (22 games between 1934 and 1994).
The next is Mexico (16 games between 1930 and 1966).
Fernando Muslera is the first Uruguayan player to be called up 5 times to a World Cup.
Muslera became the oldest Uruguayan player to appear in a World Cup: 39 years 364 days.
He surpassed Diego Godín: 36 years 288 days (in 2022).
Maxi Araújo is the first Uruguayan player to score on his debut in the World Cup since Diego Forlán in 2002 (against Senegal).
Iran vs New Zealand (Group G)
*New Zealand scored two goals in a World Cup match for the second time, after 15 June 1982, against Scotland (2-5).
*Ramin Rezaian became the first Iranian player in history:
to score in two World Cups (in 2022 and 2026),
to score and assist in a World Cup match.
He has been involved in Iran’s last three goals in the competition (one goal, two assists).
*Elijah Just becomes the New Zealand player to score two goals in the same World Cup match.
*Four draws in a single day in World Cup matches: this had only happened once before in the tournament’s history, on 15 June 1958 (Sweden 0-0 Wales, Yugoslavia 3-3 Paraguay, England 2-2 Austria, Northern Ireland 2-2 Germany), but in 8 matches played.
*Six matches played by the Asian confederation and no defeats (2 wins, 4 losses): best ever World Cup start for AFC.
AFC nations have best percentage of points among confederations in the 2026 World Cup so far: 55.6%.
Next are UEFA (46.7%) and CONCACAF (46.7%); the worst is CONMEBOL (16.7%).