Group H features European Champions Spain , with South American heavyweights Uruguay. The group is completed by Saudi Arabia and first time qualifiers Cape Verde from Africa.
SPAIN –
Spain qualified as winners of European Group E ahead of Turkey, winning their first 5 games to ensure their final 2-2 draw with Turkey was irrelevant.
March 2026 friendlies saw Spain beat Serbia 3-0 before a disappointing 0-0 draw with Egypt which was overshadowed by unsavoury chanting from the crowd.
Spain manager is Luis de la Fuente
Spain’s goalkeeper is Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao with back up from Arsenal’s David Raya
The Spanish defence includes Aymeric Laporte the former Manchester City star alongside Marcos Llorente and Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella
In midfield Spain have Pedri and Dani Olmo of Barcelona with Manchester City’s Rodri and Arsenal’s Martín Zubimendi.
In attack Spain have the young star of Euro 2024 Lamine Yamal of Barcelona alongside Mikel Oyarzabal with young Víctor Muñoz of Real Zaragoza recently scoring on his debut. Nico Williams (his brother Inaki will be in the Ghana squad) and Ferran Torres may also feature.
URUGUAY –
Uruguay qualified from South America group in fourth place and claimed an automatic spot. This was however only decided on goal difference with Colombia, Uruguay , Brazil and Paraguay all finishing on 28pts , one point behind runners up Ecuador.
Uruguay are managed by former Leeds Head Coach Marcelo Bielsa
In March 2026 friendlies they drew 1-1 with England and 0-0 with Algeria.
In goal they have Sergio Rochet.
In defence they have captain José María Giménez of Atlético Madrid alongside Ronald Araújo of Barcelona and Manuel Ugarte from Manchester Utd.
In midfield they are led by Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde with Giorgian de Arrascaeta.
In attack Uruguay have former Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez with Brian Rodríguez.
SAUDI ARABIA –
Saudi Arabia came through the complex Asian qualifying , the Second Round saw Saudi Arabia qualify for Round Three with Jordan as top 2 in Group G.
The Third Round saw Saudi Arabia miss out on automatic qualification as Japan and Australia qualified from Group C. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia who finished 3rd and 4th in the 6 team group moved to Round Four.
In Round Four there were two groups of three teams with Saudi Arabia qualified as winners of Group B.
In March 2026 friendlies they lost 4-0 to Egypt and 2-1 to Serbia, leaving doubts over the future of coach Hervé Renard and he may not even be in charge for the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia manager Hervé Renard was sacked in April 2026 ahead of the World Cup and his replacement is Greek Georgios Donis.
In goal is Nawaf Al-Aqidi with back up from the experienced Mohammed Al-Owais
The defence includes Saud Abdulhamid of Lens and Abdulelah Al-Amri
The midfield has the experience of Salman Al-Faraj and Mohamed Kanno
In attack Salem Al-Dawsari has over 100 caps and is assisted by Saleh Al-Shehri, Abdullah Al-Hamdan and winger Firas Al-Buraikan.
CAPE VERDE –
Cape Verde were the surprise winners of African qualifying Group D ahead of Cameroon.
in 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Cape Verde failed to qualify finishing bottom of their group as Egypt and Botswana qualified.
In March friendlies Cape Verde lost 4-2 to Chile before drawing 1-1 with Finland.
Cape Verde manager is former player Pedro “Bubista” Brito
In goal they have Vozinha who plays in second division in Portugal
The defence includes Irish born Roberto Lopes (Pico) who plays for Shamrock Rovers alongside João Paulo Fernandes of FCSB
In midfield they have Deroy Duarte of Ludogorets and Kevin Pina of Krasnodar.
In attack they have captain Ryan Mendes of Iğdır in Turkey alongside Garry Rodrigues of Apollon Limassol and Willy Semedo of Omonia.
Dailon Livramento is currently on loan to Casa Pia in Portugal from Italian side Verona.
Group H Fixtures
15/6/26 5pm Spain v Cape Verde
15/6/26 11pm Uruguay v Saudi Arabia
21/6/26 5pm Spain v Saudi Arabia
21/6/26 11pm Uruguay v Cape Verde
27/6/26 1am Spain v Uruguay
27/6/26 1am Saudi Arabia v Cape Verde
PREDICTIONS
I can only see Spain and Uruguay winning their opening two games and playing each other for top spot.
Similarly I can see Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde playing the final game looking for a win to claim third spot but a draw will see both eliminated.
1st Place prediction – Spain 7pts
2nd Place prediction – Uruguay 7pts
3rd Place prediction – Saudi Arabia 1pt GD -3
Football is Academical 