World Cup Group H Preview
Group H is Spain's to lose; they have been handed maybe the easiest group of any team in the tournament. Uruguay are not as scary as they have been historically and are closer talent-wise to Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde than they are to Spain, and both Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde should be happy if they win a match.
Group H fixtures (all kick-off times are in BST)
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay 15th June 11pm
Spain vs Saudi Arabia 21st June 5pm
Uruguay vs Cape Verde 21st June 11pm
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia 27th June 1am
Uruguay vs Spain 27th June 1am
Spain
The second favourites for this tournament, Spain, are to try and reclaim their crown from 2010, and while this team doesn't have the same strength in depth as the 2008-2012 team that dominated world football, they're coming off of winning the Euros in 2024 and have great players at every position. If they don't win the tournament, it will be seen as an abject failure.
In goal, it's likely to be Unai Simón despite David Raya having an unbelievable season for Arsenal, but De La Fuente, where possible, is going to stick with the team that won the Euros. Right back is a position where he will have to change after Dani Carvajal couldn't get fit in time for this tournament, so isnt in the squad, but whichever one of Pedro Porro, Marco Llorente and Marc Pubill starts it doesn't really matter; none of them is bad enough to be a problem for Spain, but none are standout enough to be a nailed-on starter. The rest of the defence is great, with Pau Cubarsi and Marc Cucurella virtually guaranteed to start at centre-back and left-back respectively. The second centre-back could be a slight problem, but whether it's Aymeric Laporte or Eric Garcis starting, they both have a good level of international experience and, like the right backs, won't be an issue for Spain in any game.
The midfield is where this team get elite, with Pedri and Rodri likely to start in midfield. Pedri has been one of the best midfielders in the world over the past couple of seasons, and Rodri was the best player in the world when Spain won the Euros, leading to him winning the Ballon d'Or. Since then, he has had an ACL injury and has only recently come back towards his best level, but I have no doubt Rodri will be great at this tournament. The depth is also not a problem at all, with Gavi, Martin Zubimendi and Fabian Ruiz all starting at club level for Barcelona, Arsenal and PSG, all of whom had good seasons.
Going forward, there are a few question marks. Lamine Yamal is obviously not one of them and might be the best attacker in the world, but he is likely to miss most of the group stage through injury; given the strength of the group, Spain won't need to risk him until the knockouts. The rest of the attack is solid if not spectacular, with Nico Williams nailed on to start off the left but he hasn't been great at club level this season and Spain lack an out-and-out striker with one of Ferran Torres and Mikel Oyarzabal likely to start upfront for Spain but they won the Euros starting Oyarzabal up front and i have no worries about this Spain attack given the strength of the midfield duo and Dani Olmo supply the front three with chances.
The floor for this team is a round of 16 exit if they get a tough draw, but that doesnt fell likely, Id be amazed if they don't make the semi-finals, and they're amongst the favourites in my mind alongside France.
Uruguay
The most consistent South American nation that isnt Brazil or Argentina is back again for its 6th straight World Cup but this is a team that has been in steady decline since 2018 which was the last tournament where Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani were at the peak of their powers as well as Diego Godin at the back that team was one of the best in that tournament where they lost narrowly to eventual champions France in the quarterfinals. This team is not at the same level as those great Uruguay teams of the 2010s; this team still has some star power, but it's hard to see where the goals will come from.
Defensively and in goal is the only part of the team that has hangovers from those great teams of the 2010s, with 39-year-old Fernando Muslera still likely to start in goal despite now having left Galatasaray and playing back in South America for Estudiantes. He's been a solid international goalkeeper since 2009, and this is surely his last hurrah, although that was supposed to be Qatar. Jose Maria Gimenez was once the young up-and-coming centre-back partner to Diego Godin in 2018, but he is now 31, and the captain of this team and one of the first names on the team sheet alongside centre-back partner Ronald Araujo, who captains Barcelona at club level, so the centre-back pairing is very good. Full-back should also be ok with Mathias Olivera and Matias Vina being solid, dependable options at left back, and at right back it could be Araujo is shifted out against the bigger teams or Guillermo Valera will play there, who, like the two left backs, is a solid if not spectacular option.
The Midfield is also a solid if not unspectacular group outside of Federico Valverde, who is by far the best player in this whole squad and has consistently been one of Real Madrid's best players over the last 5 years. Manuel Ugarte and Rodrigo Bentancur are both good despite having difficult seasons at club level, but the midfield of these three is not going to be a problem at all.
The problem for Uruguay is where are the goals going to come from? In stark contrast to history, where they've always had an elite striker, whether that was Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez or Edinson Cavani; the striker position has always been a strength, but this tournament it's the biggest weakness alongside the wingers in this squad. The much-maligned Darwin Nunez is going to have a lot of pressure on him, but after his disastrous Liverpool stint and now being in Saudi Arabia at 26 years old, the rest of the wingers and strikers are a bunch of either South American journeymen like Giorgian de Arrasceta or people who play in Europe but for much lesser clubs like Facundo Pellistri and Federico Vinas. Uruguay need 2 of these guys to step up and score 6 or 7 goals between them if they're to go deep in this tournament.
Because of the weak nature of the pot 3 and 4 teams in this group, Uruguay should be fine to sail through, but dont be surprised when this team is closer to Cape Verde than it is to Spain i find it hard to see them not going through in second place but that could well be as far as they go the floor is definitely a round of 32 exit but if an attacker catches fire hi and Valverde could drag this team into the quarter-finals but i can't see this team winning the whole thing.
Saudi Arabia
You'd think given the investment in the Saudi Pro League since the last tournament, that this team that beat champions Argentina in the group stage would be better than they were 4 years ago, but i just dont think that is the case all the increased investment in the Saudi League has meant is the Saudi players arent playing as many minutes as they were in in the run up to 2018 and 2022. 25 of the 26-man squad play in Saudi Arabia; the only exception is Saud Abdulhamid, who plays for Lens, who have just had its best season in club history, and he has played a major role in that with 25 appearances in Ligue 1, so the right back is in good form.
My doubts largely come from how bad they've been; they lost in the semi-finals of the Arab Cup to Jordan. They only finished third in their World Cup qualifying group, only getting 1 more point than Indonesia, which finished well behind Australia and Japan. They were invited to compete in the Gold Cup, where they scraped past Haiti, drew with Trinidad and Tobago, and lost to the USA and Mexico fairly comfortably to go out in the quarter-finals and in their friendlies in the run-up to this tournament they lost 4-0 to Egypt and lost to Serbia, who haven't even qualified. The only game they have won since the 11th December is a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico.
There will be a lot of pressure on 34-year-old Salem Al-Dawsari again, who was the standout performer 4 years ago and was the best player on the pitch in the win against Argentina. Firas Al-Buraikan will also need to score a goal or two if they're to even get out of this group that is fairly difficult for them, as Cape Verde are one of the better pot 4 teams in this tournament despite largely being written off.
The floor of this team is absolutely getting 0 points and bombing out, but there is also a world where they nick a point off Uruguay and progress with 4 points and then lose in the round of 32. I can't see them going any further.
Cape Verde
Cape Verde come into their first World Cup largely being written off, but this is by far the best of the debutant nations at this tournament and could cause Uruguay and Saudi Arabia real problems in this group. To begin with, to get here they topped a qualifying group with perennial World Cup team Cameroon in it and a very dangerous Libya and Angola team in there as well; they only dropped 7 points. This qualifying performance wasn't out of the blue; this is a national team that has been very close to getting to a World Cup for many World Cup cycles, finishing 2 points behind Nigeria in the group in 2022 and in 2014 finishing just behind Tunisia and made back-to-back knockout rounds of Afcon in 2021 and 2023.
While there are not many recognisable names on this team, they all play in top divisions around the world, with the players playing at the highest level being Logan Costa, who has played 34 times for Villarreal over the past two seasons in La Liga. Nuno da Costa plays for Istanbul Basaksehir, one of the better teams in Turkey and Sidny Lopes Cabral and Wagner Pina both play for Trabzonspor, another of the top 5 teams in Turkey. The rest of the squad play across Europe, primarily meaning the floor of this team is much higher than is widely publicised.
Just over the last year, they have beaten Cameroon 1-0, Serbia 3-0, and drawn with Egypt and Iran, both of whom have been World Cup regulars over recent tournaments. I can't see a world where Saudi Arabia and Uruguay are able to put 3 or 4 past this team and blow them away. Cape Verde will be competitive, which is more than can be said for some of the World Cup debutants at this tournament.
That being said, the floor of this team is still absolutely getting 0 points, but there is also a world where they beat Saudi Arabia and Uruguay and finish Second in this group, though this is unlikely; I'd be surprised if they don't get a point.
Predictions
In my predictions, Cape Verde progresses as one of the 8 best third-place teams
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