Monday, June 15th at the 2026 FIFA World Cup sees Group H and Group G take to the field. Spain hosts Cape Verde, a nation on debut in the World Cup, Mo Salah and Egypt battle Kevin De Bruyne’s Belgium. Uruguay with Federico Valverde takes on an upset minded Saudi Arabia, and Iran will look to find form against New Zealand in the nightcap game. As always, we preview and predict all the World Cup action.
Spain vs Cape Verde (Monday June 15th at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta)
Spain at 2-2-0 since March have not warmed up in the best of form, but they remain one of the top 3 nations likely to lift the World Cup. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) is tracking towards fitness, and there’s an entire Barca squadron of players for Luis De La Fuente including Pedri. This is a game will Spain will see 70% possession, and Cape Verde will need to build a shell and try to hit on the counter.
On debut in the World Cup, many of Cape Verde’s players are part of the Portuguese or Turkish league system. There’s a lack of famous names, but Cape Verde has squad with European experience, and they will look to avoid getting run out of the stadium here by Spain’s attacking class.
Prediction: Spain 4-0
Belgium vs Egypt (Monday June 15th at Lumen Field in Seattle)
Belgium has 13 consecutive matches without defeat. Warm up wins over Croatia and Tunisia without conceding bring a lot of confidence to this side that is getting overlooked by pundits, though they are expected to top their group. The “golden generation” title is banished, but there’s still plenty of experience in this squad with Napoli’s Kevin de Bruyne and Romelo Lukaku. Jeremy Doku on the wing can terrorize opponents, and Thibaut Cortuis is a steady hand in goal.
Egypt lost to Brazil and beat Russia to warm up, this is a solid team, heavy on Egyptian domestic based players, and still reliant on Mo Salah and Omar Marmoush to produce goals. Egypt won’t be easy to break down, but ultimately, they lack the firepower and shouldn’t see much of the ball against a Belgium side that can play free flowing football on their best day.
Prediction: Belgium 3-1
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay (Monday June 15th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami)
Having posted a 1-1-3 record in 2026, but recently managing a draw against Senegal, Saudi Arabia enters the World Cup with low expectations. They did the minimum needed to qualify in AFC, and against a side in Uruguay with a lot of higher profile international talent, they will definitely be the team needing to defend and play off the ball.
Uruguay under Marcelo Bielsa are good in the defensive and midfield phase of the game, but with only Darwin Nunez (Al-Hilal) the proven striker, and his form is questionable, they lack bite in attack. Nunez will be familiar with this Saudi team, he battles them each week for his club team. Two or three first-choice players will be injured for Uruguay in this match, but under Bielsa they should do the minimum to get the 3 points and move forward.
Prediction: Uruguay 2-0
Iran vs New Zealand (Monday June 15th at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles)
A nation torn apart by war, playing in the nation they are currently at war with. The circumstances around Iran’s participation in this World Cup are already worthy of a documentary. Iran qualified solidly from AFC and have always been a defensively sound and cohesive side, but the turmoil off the field and inconsistency on it have clouded their chances of making a run this tournament. The team decided to train and prepare for games in Tijuana, Mexico.
New Zealand are an opponent they would want to start with however. The only qualifier from OFC, this is not a strong team. They only one a single game in 2025 and are 1-0-3 in 2026, though they held England to 1-0. New Zealand with Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest) will look to poach a goal, but getting a point out of this group would come as a surprise. Iran’s experience should be enough. Prediction: Iran 2-0
Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images
