After a few late nights and early mornings, we’ve got 17:00 and 20:00 kickoffs at the World Cup this evening.
Spain vs Cape Verde, 17:00, RTE 2/ITV1
Joint-favourites for the competition, Spain begin their World Cup campaign against tournament debutants Cape Verde. FIFA’s expanded 48-team World Cup gave fear to some rather lob-sided group stage fixtures occurring, and those concerns have largely been accurate in the opening week of the competition, with Germany’s 7-1 hammering of Curaçao being a case in point.
Spain goes into this World Cup as reigning European champions, and the 2010 World Champions will be expected to make light work of the small African island. Cape Verde boasts a population of just over 500,000 people, and this is a real baptism of fire for the newcomers.
Luis de la Fuente has suffered just two defeats in 42 matches as Spain manager, and with a squad packed with talent and balance, La Roja will be a formidable force in North America.
Cape Verde may take some encouragement from Spain’s injury situation, with one of the world’s best players, Lamine Yamal, unlikely to be risked as he continues his recovery from a hamstring problem.
However, the downside for the African side is that his likely replacement, Ferran Torres, arrives in excellent form and will be determined to seize his opportunity.
Torres heads to the World Cup on the back of an impressive 2025-26 campaign, scoring 16 league goals for FC Barcelona and establishing himself ahead of Robert Lewandowski as the club’s preferred central striker.
Equally effective out wide, Torres can also operate from the right flank, the position he occupied when scoring twice in Spain’s previous World Cup opener, a commanding 7-0 victory over Costa Rica.
Another wide-margin win could be on the cards in Atlanta.
Prediction: Spain 4-0 Cape Verde (19/4)
Best Bet: Spain -3 (6/4)
Belgium vs Egypt, 20:00, RTE 2/BBC One
This is the pick of the ties in a group also containing Iran and New Zealand, so a win here for either Belgium or Egypt could go a long way in deciding the winner of Group G.
Belgium’s golden generation has come and gone, but they remain a formidable side, as displayed by a 13-game unbeaten run (W9, D4). The Red Devils put seven unanswered goals past Croatia and Tunisia in their two warm-up games, meaning Belgium can be confident of avenging the group stage exit they suffered in 2022. They’ve also suffered just one defeat in their last 15 group stage matches at the World Cup (W8, D6).
Egypt’s record at the World Cup does not make for pretty reading. The Pharaohs have never won a game at the finals from seven previous efforts (D2, L5). Only Honduras (9) has played more games in this competition than Egypt without ever registering a win.
Given that the seven-time AFCON winners are managed by the country’s all-time leading goalscorer, Hossam Hassan, it’s interesting to see that Egypt’s recent success has been based on defensive solidity. Egypt goes into the tournament having kept a clean sheet in four of their last five matches.
However, when you look at their options in the final third, it really is a surprise to note that Egypt have scored no more than one goal in 13 of their last 17 fixtures. With the likes of Mo Salah, Omar Marmoush, and Trezeguet at the top end of the pitch, the FIFA-ranked 29th side should offer a real threat on the counterattack.
Egypt scored in their final warm-up defeat against Brazil and may be capable of registering at least a goal in Seattle.
Prediction: Belgium 1-1 Egypt (11/2)
Best Bet: Both teams to score (9/10)
Monday’s World Cup Double
- Spain -3
- BTTS Yes Belgium v Egypt
- ODDS: 15/4
