Four countries will make their debut at the 2026 World Cup, with one of them, Cape Verde, drawn into Group H alongside Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.
The expectations for the group are clear—Spain is expected to win it easily—but the problems in Uruguay’s play create the conditions for a surprise qualification by one of the two lesser-known participants.
Find out what MrFixitsTips has to say about Group H of the 2026 World Cup, including predictions, tactics, and odds.
Which teams are in Group H of the 2026 World Cup?
Spain
Current FIFA ranking: 2
The Spanish national team is the heavy favorite at most bookmakers to win the World Cup, following their victory at Euro 2024. La Roja qualified with five wins in six qualifying matches, though the final 2-2 draw with Turkey should be disregarded since Spain had already secured qualification. The two goals conceded were the only ones in the entire qualifying campaign.
Manager and tactics
Many people had doubts about Luis de la Fuente as Luis Enrique’s successor, but he led Spain to the trophy in 2024, and the team has not lost its form in any way since then.
The current La Roja’s preferred formation is 4-2-3-1, with their play centered on ball control, constant pressing, and fast attacks. The presence of several of football’s biggest stars is a major advantage, as most players on the squad are capable of deciding a match single-handedly.
Cape Verde
Current FIFA ranking: 69
Cape Verde are among the few nations set to make their World Cup debut in 2026, and expectations for them are minimal, which gives them the freedom to play their best football and enjoy this historic participation.
Even in the qualifying phase, no one expected Cape Verde to win their group, but they did so with just one loss in 10 matches, leaving favorites Cameroon in second place.
Manager and tactics
Pedro Leitao Brito, more widely known as simply Bubista, will be a new name to the majority of the football world, as he has never coached outside Cape Verde. But he has now been named CAF’s 2025 Coach of the Year, after the team qualified to the World Cup.
Under his guidance, Cape Verde typically play in a 4-2-3-1 system, but we’ve seen them switch to 4-3-3 when needed, and we expect to see more of that during the World Cup, when they will be forced to play a low block. Their weaknesses will be the lack of experience and squad depth. We expect strictly defensive, counterattacking football from the debutants.
Saudi Arabia
Current FIFA ranking: 61
This will be Saudi Arabia’s 7th World Cup appearance, although the nation hasn’t had many reasons to celebrate since reaching the round of 16 in 1994. But most fans certainly remember when they beat Argentina in the opening round of the 2022 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia’s qualifications didn’t show much promise, as the team had to fight until the fourth round to secure its place. Their chances of overcoming a group stage with Spain and Uruguay are slim.
Manager and tactics
Georgios Donis is the third manager in this group, who will make his managerial debut at the World Cup, and he got the job just 59 days before the start of the competition.
We don’t yet have useful information about how Saudi Arabia will play under him, as they haven’t yet played an official match under him. But we expect a compact 4-3-3 and counterattacks. However, the lack of technical abilities will make it near-impossible to deal with Spain and Uruguay, and even Cape Verde’s low block will be hard to break.
Uruguay
Current FIFA ranking: 17
The generational shift in Uruguay took its toll, as after a strong start to the qualifiers, La Celeste faced serious problems in the second half of the matches.
Manager and tactics
Marcelo Bielsa is certainly not among the most beloved managers due to his temperament; in recent years, he has repeatedly clashed with players on the Uruguayan national team, including Luis Suarez.
His style of play demands that players push themselves to the limit, with the goal being fast-paced football with constant pressure. The qualifiers showed that the players don’t always rise to the challenge, and we expect them to rely on the individual brilliance of stars like Federico Valverde, provided he makes a full recovery from his concussion.
2026 World Cup Group H group winners and qualification predictions
Group H winner odds
- Spain (1/5)
- Cape Verde (50/1)
- Saudi Arabia (16/1)
- Uruguay (4/1)
Group H qualification odds
- Spain (3/200)
- Cape Verde (8/5)
- Saudi Arabia (4/5)
- Uruguay (4/25)
2026 World Cup Group H fixtures and odds
Matchday 1
Spain vs Cape Verde
- Spain (1/10)
- Draw (12/1)
- Cape Verde (20/1)
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay
- Saudi Arabia (19/4)
- Draw (31/10)
- Uruguay (1/2)
Matchday 2
Spain vs Saudi Arabia
- Spain (1/10)
- Draw (8/1)
- Saudi Arabia (25/1)
Uruguay vs Cape Verde
- Uruguay (9/20)
- Draw (33/10)
- Cape Verde (11/2)
Matchday 3
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia
- Cape Verde (TBC)
- Draw (TBC)
- Saudi Arabia (TBC)
Uruguay vs Spain
- Uruguay (TBC)
- Draw (TBC)
- Spain (TBC)
Note: All above odds were correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
No one doubts that Spain will win the group, but we mustn’t forget that one other team will also advance. On paper, that should be Uruguay, but La Celeste had serious problems in qualifying, and we certainly can’t rule out surprises against one of the other two teams.
Cape Verde look like a far more cohesive and prepared team than Saudi Arabia, so we can expect good things from them. In our opinion, it’s a mistake to consider them the underdog in the group just because they’re debutants and the smallest country of all.
It’s worth checking out the odds again before the World Cup kicks off, as there are many interesting markets. You can check out the best World Cup betting apps through our specialised guide.
Predicted finishing order
- Spain
- Uruguay
- Cape Verde
- Saudi Arabia
Vladislav has been professionally engaged in freelance journalism for seven years and has worked with numerous leading sports publications. A football and martial arts fanatic, he spent years training in both disciplines before turning to writing.
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