Here they are by the numbers Spain FIFA ranked number two The highest ranked team in the entire tournament Luis de la Fuente in charge Squad value around nine hundred and twenty million euros Uruguay Ranked seventeenth Marcelo Bielsa on the touchline Two-time world champions Saudi Arabia Ranked sixty-first Georgios Donis appointed just sixty days before kick-off And Cape Verde Ranked sixty-ninth Pedro Leitão Brito known as Bubista World Cup debutants The smallest nation by land area ever to qualify

Let's start at the top Spain FIFA ranked number two The highest ranked team at this World Cup Luis de la Fuente in charge since December twenty twenty-two Contract extended through Euro twenty twenty-eight Squad value around nine hundred and twenty million euros Third most valuable squad at the tournament Champions of Europe Seven straight wins at Euro twenty twenty-four The first team ever to win the Euros without dropping a point World champions in twenty ten The strength is the depth The weakness is familiar Round of Sixteen exits in twenty eighteen and twenty twenty-two Compact defensive teams have hurt them before

Lamine Yamal The right winger Eighteen years old Turns nineteen during the tournament F C Barcelona Twenty-five caps six goals The youngest player to score in European Championship history Won the Kopa Trophy in twenty twenty-four and twenty twenty-five The first player to win it twice Runner-up for the twenty twenty-five Ballon d'Or at eighteen Forty-five appearances and twenty-four goals across all competitions this season Pedri The central midfielder Twenty-three years old F C Barcelona Forty caps five goals Won the Golden Boy Award in twenty twenty-one Euro twenty twenty-four winner Barcelona's youngest player to make one hundred and fifty La Liga appearances He surpassed Messi's record Press-resistant Elite vision Impossible to dispossess Rodri The defensive midfielder Twenty-nine years old Manchester City Sixty-one caps four goals Twenty twenty-four Ballon d'Or winner The first Man City player ever to win it Tore his A C L against Arsenal in September twenty twenty-four Returned in May twenty twenty-five By April twenty twenty-six fully restored The best defensive midfielder in the world when fit Mikel Oyarzabal The forward Twenty-nine years old Real Sociedad Fifty-two caps twenty-four goals Scored the decisive goal in the Euro twenty twenty-four final against England Eighty-sixth minute Two-one Won the trophy Eleven goals in his last ten appearances heading into the World Cup Won the twenty twenty-five-twenty-six Copa del Rey with Sociedad

Now Uruguay Ranked seventeenth Marcelo Bielsa appointed in May twenty twenty-three Previously Argentina Chile Athletic Bilbao Leeds United Two-time world champions Nineteen thirty Nineteen fifty The Maracanazo Four World Cup semifinals in their history Qualified through CONMEBOL in September twenty twenty-five Beat Peru three-nil The strength is the pedigree The weakness is generational Luis Suárez gone Edinson Cavani gone The end of a golden era Bielsa's three-three-three-one demands total commitment The squad average age is twenty-eight point four

Federico Valverde The midfielder and vice-captain Twenty-seven years old Real Madrid Seventy-three caps nine goals Scored his first career hat-trick on the eleventh of March twenty twenty-six against Manchester City in the Champions League A three-nil win Two Champions League titles Three La Liga titles The pivot around whom Bielsa builds everything Darwin Núñez The striker Twenty-six years old Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League Thirty-eight caps thirteen goals Won the Premier League with Liverpool in twenty twenty-four-twenty-five before moving Nine goals in twenty-four appearances at Al-Hilal this season Won the Primeira Liga Golden Boot with Benfica with twenty-six goals in twenty-eight matches Pace and power José María Giménez The captain and centre-back Thirty-one years old Atlético Madrid Ninety-nine caps eight goals Likely earns his hundredth at this World Cup Joined Atlético in twenty thirteen at age eighteen Over three hundred and eighty appearances for the club Won La Liga twice Won the Europa League in twenty seventeen-eighteen The last line of sanity at the back Manuel Ugarte The defensive midfielder Twenty-four years old Manchester United Signed from P S G in August twenty twenty-four for around fifty million euros Thirty-five caps one goal Scored the latest winning goal in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying history Ninety plus eleven minutes against Colombia Named in the Copa América twenty twenty-four Team of the Tournament

Now to the Gulf Saudi Arabia Ranked sixty-first Georgios Donis the Greek appointed on the twenty-third of April twenty twenty-six Just sixty days before the World Cup opens His first international management role Replaced Hervé Renard after a four-nil friendly loss to Egypt The most destabilising manager change in Group H The strength is the spirit of twenty twenty-two They beat Argentina two-one They ended Lionel Messi's thirty-six-match unbeaten streak The largest upset in modern World Cup history The weakness is the tactical flux An entirely domestic squad No European top-flight players Third consecutive World Cup Seventh overall

Salem Al-Dawsari The captain and left winger Thirty-four years old Al Hilal One hundred and seven caps twenty-six goals Scored the iconic winning goal against Argentina at the twenty twenty-two World Cup AFC Player of the Year twice Most recently in twenty twenty-five The first Saudi player ever to win it twice Top Asian goalscorer in Club World Cup history with five goals Mohammed Al-Owais The goalkeeper Thirty-four years old Al-Ula Sixty-two caps Player of the Match in Saudi Arabia's two-one win over Argentina at the twenty twenty-two World Cup Multiple saves against Mexico in the same group stage helped eliminate them Multiple Saudi Pro League titles with Al-Hilal Multiple King Cups Firas Al-Buraikan The striker Twenty-five years old Al-Ahli Sixty-eight caps fifteen goals Won the AFC Under twenty-three Asian Cup in twenty twenty-two Won the AFC Champions League Elite in twenty twenty-four-twenty-five Thirty-two goals in sixty-two appearances at Al-Fateh The youngest key player in this Saudi squad Pace and movement Saleh Al-Shehri The striker Al-Hilal Fifty-seven caps Scored Saudi Arabia's first goal in the famous two-one win over Argentina The forty-eighth-minute equaliser Set up Salem Al-Dawsari for the winner The other half of the upset that shook the world

And finally Cape Verde Ranked sixty-ninth Pedro Leitão Brito Bubista In charge since twenty twenty Led the Blue Sharks to their first ever World Cup qualification in October twenty twenty-five CAF group winners The smallest nation by land area ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup Four thousand and thirty-three square kilometres Population around five hundred thousand Their squad represents roughly one in twenty-two thousand of the entire country The strength is the story The weakness is the level Three African Cup of Nations appearances Quarterfinalists in twenty thirteen

Ryan Mendes The captain and right winger Thirty-six years old Iğdır F K in the Turkish second division Ninety-six caps Twenty-two goals Cape Verde's all-time records in both Career stops at Le Havre Lille England Turkey the U A E The undisputed heartbeat of the squad Twenty-five appearances in the T F F First League this season The veteran who carried the Blue Sharks to their first ever World Cup Jovane Cabral The left winger Twenty-seven years old Estrela da Amadora in the Primeira Liga Twenty-seven caps three goals Six years at Sporting C P Won the Primeira Liga in twenty twenty-twenty-one Won the Primeira Liga Goal of the Season in twenty eighteen-nineteen Loan spells at Lazio and Olympiacos Seven goals in domestic play this season Dailon Livramento The forward Twenty-four years old Casa Pia on loan from Hellas Verona Twenty caps seven goals Four goals in World Cup qualifying Scored on his Serie A debut against Napoli A three-nil win on the eighteenth of August twenty twenty-four Born in Rotterdam to Cape Verdean parents Cape Verde's best counter-attack weapon Jamiro Monteiro The central midfielder Thirty-two years old P E C Zwolle in the Eredivisie Forty-nine caps five goals Won the twenty twenty M L S Supporters' Shield with Philadelphia Union CONCACAF Champions League Team of the Tournament in twenty twenty-one Born in Rotterdam to Cape Verdean immigrants Set-pieces and transitions run through him

Now The contrast Spain's squad around nine hundred and twenty million euros The third most valuable squad at this World Cup Uruguay Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde all far behind The FIFA rank spread Two seventeen sixty-one sixty-nine Added together one hundred and forty-nine Group D came in at one hundred and five Group H is tied with Group E for the same combined sum But the spread is the headline From Spain at number two to Cape Verde at number sixty-nine Sixty-seven places The widest internal spread of any group at this World Cup The gap from Spain to Saudi Arabia alone is fifty-nine places

Now the matches

Match one The fifteenth of June Spain versus Cape Verde Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Around seventy-one thousand seats Retractable pinwheel roof The iconic Halo video board World Cup debutants face the highest-ranked team in the tournament Yamal against Cape Verde's compact block Match two The fifteenth of June Saudi Arabia versus Uruguay Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens Around sixty-five thousand three hundred seats Home of the Miami Dolphins Six Super Bowls hosted here Bielsa's pressing system against Donis's brand-new Saudi setup Match three The twenty-first of June Spain versus Saudi Arabia Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta again Spain's second group game Al-Dawsari against Rodri in midfield The twenty twenty-two upset memory haunts every Argentina-shaped opponent Match four The twenty-first of June Uruguay versus Cape Verde Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens again Valverde against Mendes A potential Uruguay statement match The Blue Sharks looking for a debut World Cup point Match five The twenty-sixth of June Cape Verde versus Saudi Arabia N R G Stadium in Houston Seventy-two thousand two hundred and twenty seats The first N F L stadium with a retractable roof Opens or closes in seven minutes The fight for third place Possibly for nothing Match six The twenty-sixth of June Uruguay versus Spain Estadio Akron in Zapopan near Guadalajara Forty-nine thousand eight hundred and thirteen seats One thousand five hundred and sixty-six metres above sea level The only altitude venue in Group H Two-time world champions against the world's number two The defining test of Group H

Now The verdict The bookmakers agree Spain win Group H Implied probability around eighty to eighty-three percent Uruguay take second Around seventeen to twenty percent to win the group Saudi Arabia third Around four to six percent Cape Verde fourth One to two percent The hinge is Uruguay versus Spain at altitude in Zapopan Win that Uruguay finish top Lose it Spain advance almost certainly as winners

Mark the dates The fifteenth of June Spain versus Cape Verde in Atlanta Saudi Arabia versus Uruguay in Miami Gardens The twenty-first of June Spain versus Saudi Arabia in Atlanta Uruguay versus Cape Verde in Miami Gardens The twenty-sixth of June The final matchday Cape Verde versus Saudi Arabia in Houston Uruguay versus Spain in Zapopan