Reigning European champions Spain head to World Cup 2026 as one of the hot favorites to lift the trophy. Luis de la Fuente’s side made light world of qualifying, topping the group in an unbeaten campaign and powering home 21 goals from just six games.
La Roja will play Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H and qualification will be the minimum expected. Indeed there will be eyebrows raised if Spain don’t take top spot given the depth of talent available.
All eyes will obviously be on Barcelona
superstar Lamine Yamal to make an impact and show why he’s one of the most exciting youngsters on the planet. Yamal missed the end of the season due to a hamstring injury but is expected be fit in time.
Barcelona will be heavily represented in the Spain squad as stars including Pedri, Gavi, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Pau Cubarsi have all been called up. There are no Real Madrid players on the list but Premier League big names such as Martín Zubimendi, Rodri, David Raya, Marc Cucurella are also on the list as Spain aim to be crowned world champions for only the second time and the first since 2010.
Group H fixtures in full and how to watch
- Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay – June 15 – 6 p.m. ET from Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
- Spain vs Cape Verde — June 15 — 12 p.m. ET from Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
- Uruguay vs Cape Verde – June 21 – 7 p.m. from Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
- Spain vs Saudi Arabia — June 21 — 12 p.m. ET from Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
- Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia – June 26 – 9 p.m. ET from Houston (NRG Stadium)
- Spain vs Uruguay — June 26 — 8 p.m. ET from Zapopan, Mexico (Akron Stadium)
The World Cup will be broadcast live in the United States on Fox Sports (Fox and FS1). Matches can also be streamed live on FIFA’s website FIFA+.
Game of the group
The most eye-catching game of the group is undoubtedly the showdown between Uruguay and Spain which could decide which team finishes top of the pile.
The fixture will see Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo come up against Yamal and many other of his team-mates at the Camp Nou in what should provide an intriguing sub-plot.
Uruguay’s Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde will also face plenty of familiar faces and may have plenty to prove at this summer’s tournament after making headlines at the end of the season for a reported altercation with Madrid team-mate Aurelien Touchameni.
This game comes in the final round of fixtures in Group H at a time when teams will be looking ahead to the next round and hoping to secure the safest passage.
The winner of Group H will meet the runner-up from Group J next, while the runner-up will face the winner of Group J. Group J consists of Algeria, Austria, Jordan and defending champions Argentina.
The expanded nature of World Cup 2026 means that the eight best third-place teams will also qualify for the round of 32.
Group H prediction
- Spain
- Uruguay
- Saudi Arabia
- Cape Verde
Spain and Uruguay will be red-hot favourites to take the top two spots in Group H this summer, leaving Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde to battle it out for third place.
Saudi Arabia know all about causing upsets as they famously pulled off one of the greatest shocks in World Cup history by beating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 in their opener in Qatar in 2022.
Yet debutants Cape Verde will be hoping they can spring a few surprises and have absolutely nothing to lose after qualifying for the World Cup for the first time ever.
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