Picture : Kevin Pina’s (Cabo Verde) goal is the 2nd direct free-kick goal in this World Cup, after that scored by Nathan Saliba (Canada) vs Qatar.
World Cup 2026 Statistics – Day 11 (June 21)
Spain vs Saudi Arabia 4-0 (Group H)
*Each of Spain’s last four World Cup wins have all come at different tournaments, including:
3-0 vs Australia (2014)
1-0 vs Iran (2018)
7-0 vs. Costa Rice (2022)
The last time they won multiple matches at a World Cup tournament, they won the trophy in 2010.
*Spain have won at least one match in all 17 of their World Cup appearances.
They are the team that has participated in the most World Cups, winning at least one match in each one.
*Spain are now unbeaten:
in 33 last competitive matches (26 wins and 7 draws), since their defeat to Scotland (0-2) on 28 March 2023 (equalling Brazil’s world record, 33 games between 1993 and 1998).
in 32 last matches overall (23 wins and 9 draws), since their defeat to Colombia (0-1) in a friendly on 22 March 2024 (Italy’s world record is 37 games, between 2018 and 2021).
*Luis De la Fuente, just on day of his 65th anniversary, became the coach with the longest unbeaten streaks for Spain (32 games between 2024 and 2026), surpassing Javier Clemente (31 games between 1994 and 1997).
Vicente Del Bosque (26 between 2011 and 2013) and Luis Aragones (25 between 2004 and 2006) are behind.
*Spain have recorded the 3-0 most quickly (in the first 24 minutes) in their history in the final phase of major tournaments (World Cup, Euro).
*It was Spain’s their World Cup match with 3 goals in the first half, after:
3-0 vs Brazil in 1934 (final score: 3-1)
3-0 vs Costa Rica in 2022 (final score: 7-0)
*Mikel Oyarzabal became only the second player to involve in three goals (2 goals and 1 assist) in the opening 24 minutes of a World Cup match, after Hungary’s László Fazekas (also 24 minutes) against El Salvador in 1982 (1 goal, 2 assists).
The player who made specifically 2 goals and 1 assist earliest before, was Toni Kroos (Germany, 7-1 against Brazil in 2014): in 26 minutes.
Curiously, in the first Spain’s match in this edition, 0-0 vs Cabo Verde, Oyarzabal became the first player on record with 0 touches in the first 30 minutes of a World Cup game.
*Oyarzabal is the fastest player to score 2 goals for Spain in a World Cup match, ahead of José Iraragorri against Brazil on 27 May 1934 (after 25 minutes).
*Oyarzabal scored two goals against Saudi Arabia in space of 2 minutes 31 seconds.
It’s one of two fastest braces for Spain in World Cup history, comparable to the Basora’s brace against Uruguay in 1950 (goals in the 37th and 39th minutes; exact timing unknown).
*Oyarzabal has already scored 11 games in 10 games played with Spain in the season 2025-26.
Only David Villa scored more in a season in the teams history (13 goals in 2008-09).
*Saudi Arabia committed only 2 fouls in this game: the 2nd lowest number by a team in a World Cup match since 1966 (the first World Cup broadcast in its entirety).
Only Cabo Verde committed fewer fouls in a game (1), curiously also vs Spain in this edition.
Belgium vs Iran 0-0 (Group G)
*Iran fielded the oldest ever starting eleven (average age 32 years and 181 days) in the history of the World Cup, surpassing Germany, whose starting eleven on 25 June 1998 had an average age of 31 years and 334 days (just against Iran).
*Belgium players failed to score in last 406 minutes of World Cup play (Michy Batshuayi was the last to do it, against Canada on 23 November 2022).
*Romelu Lukaku is currently on an 8-game goalless streak at the World Cup.
*Thibaut Courtois has played his 17th World Cup match for Belgium, equaling Enzo Scifo’s national all-time record (7 in 1986, 4 in 1990, 4 in 1994, and 2 in 1998).
Uruguay vs Cabo Verde 2-2 (Group H)
*Cabo Verde became the third African nation to have not lost either of its first two World Cup matches in its history, after:
Cameroon in 1982 (2 draws),
Senegal in 2002 (1 win, 1 draw).
*Cabo Verde is the first debutant nation (across all confederations) to be undefeated after its first two World Cup matches (2 draws) since Senegal in 2002.
*Cabo Verde are the 3rd team in history to get points in their World Cup debut against 2 former world champions (Germany and Uruguay), and the first to achieve this in their first matches. The precedents:
Denmark in 1986 (defeated Uruguay in match-day 2 and Germany in match-day 3)
Senegal in 2002 (defeated France in match-day 1, drew with Uruguay in match-day 3).
*In his ninth World Cup match as coach, for the first time, a team led by Marcelo Bielsa has finally scored more than one goal:
Argentina, 3 games in 2002: 1-0, 0-1, and 1-1
Chile, 4 games in 2010: 1-0, 1-0, 1-2, and 0-3
Uruguay, 2 games in 2026: 1-1 and now 2-1
*Kevin Pina’s (Cabo Verde) goal is the 2nd direct free-kick goal in this World Cup, after that scored by Nathan Saliba (Canada) vs Qatar.
*Pina became the 3rd African player to score a direct free-kick goal in the history of the World Cup, after:
Raouf Bouzaiene (Tunisia, vs Belgium) in 2002
Kalu Uche (Nigeria, vs Greece) in 2010
*It was the first goal ever conceded by Uruguay from direct free-kick goal in history of the World Cup.
*Cabo Verde is only 2nd team in the history of the World Cup that had scored its first goal with a direct free kick, after:
Argentina, with Luis Felipe Monti’s goal against France on 15 July 1930.
*Maxi Araújo is the third player who scored in Uruguay’s first two World Cup matches, after:
Alcides Gighia in 1950
Omar Míguez in 1954
*Fernando Muslera became the player with the most appearances for Uruguay in the World Cup history (18), surpassing Edinson Cavani (17).
*Muslera (40 years and 5 days old) and Cabo Verde’s Vozinha (40 years and 18 days old) became the first pair of goalkeepers over 40 years old to start a World Cup match.
*Rayan Mendes becomes the first player to reach 100 appearances for Cabo Verde.
New Zealand vs Egypt 1-3 (Group G)
*It was a meeting of two nations that failed to win any of their World Cup game before (Egypt 8, New Zealand 7).
Now Egypt, in their ninth match, has finally achieved their first victory (after 3 draws and 5 defeats) while New Zealand keep being winless (4 draws, 4 losses), in just one step from Honduras, the nation with most matches in World Cup without a win (9: 3 draws, 6 losses).
*Egypt scored three goals in a World Cup match for the first time in history.
*Egypt became the first African team to win a World Cup match after trailing, since Tunisia against Panama on 28 June 2018.
*Mohamed Salah became the player with the most starts for Egypt (29) in major tournaments (World Cup + AFCON), beating Ahmed Hassan and Essam El-Hadary (28 each).
*Egypt’s Hamza Abdelkarim became the youngest (18 years and 171 days old) African player in history to win a World Cup match.
*Trezeguet became the first substitute in history to score for Egypt in a World Cup match.