Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to be Spain’s first opponents on the road to a second star

Spain has been placed in Group H and will learn tomorrow the venues and kick-off times for its matches.

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Fri, 05/12/2025 - 22:51

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. served as the venue for the draw for the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, marking the official start of the countdown to the major international tournament that will be held next summer across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzán, and national team coach Luis de la Fuente led the Spanish delegation at the event in the U.S. capital. They were joined by the RFEF’s Secretary General, Álvaro de Miguel; Director General, Manuel Lalinde; and Technical Director of Development and the Men’s National Team, Aitor Karanka.

Spain has been drawn alongside Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, and on Saturday will learn the venues and kick-off times for each of its group-stage matches.

Spain was also assigned to Group H in 2010, the year in which it won the World Cup.

The schedule is as follows:
15 June: Spain vs. Cape Verde
21 June: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia
26 June: Spain vs. Uruguay

The World Cup will begin on 11 June 2026 with the opening match between host nation Mexico and South Africa. The Mexican side will launch the edition featuring the most teams — 48 — and the most matches in history before its home supporters in Mexico City. This fixture will be the first of 104 matches to be played before the next world champion is crowned 38 days later at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The side coached by Luis de la Fuente secured its place in the world’s premier tournament on 18 November at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, qualifying for the 13th consecutive time. Spain will now seek to claim glory once again and embroider a second star onto the chest of the national team shirt, after the first was earned on 11 July 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

The 2026 World Cup will be staged across 16 host cities. The United States will host the majority of the competition, with 11 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco and Seattle. Mexico will host matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, while Canada will do so in Toronto and Vancouver.