PITCH DUEL. Iran’s Shahriyar Moghanloo leaps for the ball against New Zealand defender Michael Boxall during their World Cup match in Los Angeles. / XINHUA
Published on: Jun 16, 2026, 12:09 pm
CABO Verde earned the first World Cup point in its history after holding European champion Spain to a scoreless draw on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (PH time), while Saudi Arabia, Egypt and New Zealand also secured valuable results against higher-ranked opponents.
According to a report by Xinhua, Cabo Verde, playing in its first-ever World Cup match, delivered a disciplined defensive performance to frustrate Spain in Atlanta.
Spain dominated possession with nearly 75 percent of the ball and fired 27 shots, but the Europeans could not find a way past 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha.
“This means everything for our country,” Cabo Verde head coach Bubista said, as quoted by Xinhua. “We have always said that we wanted everybody to see our country, our team and we have shown organization and braveness. This is proof of what our country is about — resilience and trying to overcome hardships.”
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente lamented his side’s inability to convert its chances.
“We should have won today’s match with everything that happened, with all the favorable situations we created, but we lacked freshness and a clinical edge,” he said.
In Miami, Maximiliano Araujo struck late to salvage a 1-1 draw for Uruguay against Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia took the lead just before halftime through Abdulelah Alamri, who finished from close range. Uruguay equalized after goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais parried Federico Vinas’ header, allowing Araujo to convert the rebound.
“We can say in the first half we had good control over the play and we had opportunities to score without being very decisive,” Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis said. “In the second half we didn’t have the same intensity and our opponent was able to go deeper into our half.”
In Seattle, Belgium also salvaged a 1-1 draw against Egypt, thanks to an own goal by Mohamed Hany.
Egypt went ahead early through Emam Ashour’s long-range effort before Hany inadvertently turned the ball into his own net shortly after the hour mark while attempting to deal with a dangerous run by Romelu Lukaku.
Belgium manager Rudi Garcia credited Egypt for a strong performance.
“We faced one of the best teams in Africa,” Garcia said. “They scored from their first shot. It is very difficult to come from behind against a team like that.”
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Mohammad Mohebbi scored in the second half to help Iran secure a 2-2 draw against New Zealand.
Elijah Just netted twice for New Zealand on either side of Ramin Rezaeian’s 32nd-minute goal for Iran before Mohebbi headed home the equalizer in the 64th minute.
