Sunday is a full Matchday 2 slate for Group G and Group H. Four games, two teams with serious reasons to be nervous after their openers, and a couple of debutants and minnows who have already shown they did not travel here just to make up numbers. Here is the lineup, the stakes, and what to watch.
Spain vs Saudi Arabia — 12:00 ET, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Spain did not lose to Cabo Verde on Matchday 1. They drew 0-0, which at this World Cup, against a team making its debut, was treated in Madrid as something worse than a loss. Luis de la Fuente's side had 71% possession, 18 shots and zero clean looks at goal. The selection conversation all week has been about whether Lamine Yamal is fit enough to start a second match in a week and whether Álvaro Morata or Mikel Oyarzabal gets the central role tonight in Atlanta.
Saudi Arabia opened with a tidy 1-1 against Uruguay — a result the Saudis treated as a moral win and Uruguay treated as irritating. Hervé Renard's setup is familiar from 2022: a mid-block with two banks of four, quick transitions through the wide players, and an asking rate on the strikers to make something out of nothing. Salem Al-Dawsari, who scored against Argentina at the last World Cup, is the one Spaniards know to watch. Spain should win this. The question is whether they look like Spain doing it.
Belgium vs Iran — 15:00 ET, SoFi Stadium
Belgium have one foot already in the conversation about whether this generation has anything left. The 0-0 with New Zealand on Matchday 1 was the tactical equivalent of a long sigh — De Bruyne playing deeper than he wants, Doku and Trossard isolated on the touchlines, Romelu Lukaku on the bench. Domenico Tedesco's job tonight is to find a shape that lets the attackers run at people. The leaks out of the camp suggest a back three, De Bruyne pushed into a free eight role, and Lukaku back through the middle.
Iran enter the match in surprisingly good spirits. They beat Egypt 2-1 on Matchday 1 — Mehdi Taremi's late header the winner — and the team-shape, set up to be hard to play through, travelled well from the qualifying campaign. Belgium will see most of the ball. Iran will sit. The question for 90 minutes is whether a Belgium side that didn't score against New Zealand can find a way through a deeper, more disciplined opponent tonight. The pressure on Tedesco is real.
Uruguay vs Cabo Verde — 18:00 ET, Hard Rock Stadium
The 1-1 against Saudi Arabia was a result Uruguay did not see coming. Marcelo Bielsa's setup — high press, two strikers, a pair of overlapping fullbacks — should have given them more than they got. Federico Valverde was the standout, Darwin Núñez ran himself into the ground for one decent chance, and the equaliser, scored late, papered over a performance that left the locker room quieter than the scoreline suggested.
Cabo Verde, meanwhile, are the surprise of the group so far. The Blue Sharks held Spain to 0-0 with a deep block and quick counters through Garry Rodrigues, and they will play the same way against Uruguay. Bula Jiménez is the manager nobody outside the country had heard of three years ago; he has now built one of the more well-drilled defensive units at this tournament. Uruguay must score early. If this stays 0-0 into the second half, Hard Rock gets very nervous.
New Zealand vs Egypt — 21:00 ET, BC Place
The night cap is the closest thing this group has to a wide open game. New Zealand's 0-0 with Belgium was the result of the tournament so far for the Kiwis — Chris Wood and the back five did everything that was asked of them, including frustrating Kevin De Bruyne to the point of substitution. They arrive in Vancouver knowing a draw or better keeps them mathematically alive going into Matchday 3 against Iran.
Egypt lost their opener to Iran and now sit on zero points with an attack that did not function. Mohamed Salah, who played 90 minutes despite a tight hamstring, will be managed. Hossam Hassan's question is whether to play Salah behind a striker as a number ten, or back on the right where he has done his best Egypt work over the years. New Zealand's discipline is hard to break down. A 1-1 here suits nobody and is the most likely scoreline.
Where the groups stand going in
- Group G: Iran 3, New Zealand 1, Belgium 1, Egypt 0. A Belgium win plus a New Zealand draw or loss tightens the group; a Belgium draw and the Devils are in trouble.
- Group H: Saudi Arabia 1, Uruguay 1, Cabo Verde 1, Spain 1. The four-way 1-1 on Matchday 1 means every team can finish first or fourth depending on tonight.
- Best third-place picture: Four points still looks like the cut-off after this round. Win tonight and almost any team is alive going into the final group game.
How to watch
FOX has Spain-Saudi Arabia at noon and Belgium-Iran at 3 pm ET. Telemundo carries all four matches in Spanish across the day. FS1 has Uruguay-Cabo Verde and New Zealand-Egypt in the evening windows. Peacock and Fubo stream the full slate for cord-cutters; UK viewers get the ITV1 window for Spain and BBC1 for the Belgium fixture.
For live tables, fixture lists and the rest of the day — the US Open is finishing up at Shinnecock too — head to Scorelisto soccer scores or check the blog for the recap once the night is done.
FAQ
Are Spain in real trouble after the Cabo Verde draw? Real, but not existential. A win tonight against Saudi Arabia and they are back on track. Lose, and the conversation gets loud.
Will Kevin De Bruyne play tonight? Yes. He went 90 against New Zealand and is in line to start again, likely in a more advanced role than Matchday 1.
Has Cabo Verde ever beaten a team like Uruguay? No. This is their debut World Cup and a win tonight would be the biggest result in the country's footballing history by a distance.
What time are kick-offs in the UK? Spain-Saudi is 5 pm BST, Belgium-Iran is 8 pm BST, Uruguay-Cabo Verde is 11 pm BST, and New Zealand-Egypt kicks off at 2 am BST on Monday morning.