Day 11 of World Cup 2026 sees pre-tournament favourites Spain return to the pitch for the first time since their shock goalless draw against debutants Cape Verde.
La Roja will be bidding to put that mishap behind them when they open up Thursday’s schedule against Saudi Arabia at 5pm (all times BST), which is followed by Belgium’s clash against Iran at 8pm.
Cape Verde will be targeting another upset when they take on two-time winners Uruguay at 11pm, before New Zealand and Egypt each go in search of their first ever World Cup win when they draw swords at 2am on Monday morning.
Here are the best of the World Cup 2026 stats heading into day 11.
Stats you might see on day 11
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Spain vs Saudi Arabia
- Spain snapshot stat: La Roja will be looking to extend their unbeaten streak to 32 matches – excluding penalties – which dates back to March 2024.
- Saudi Arabia snapshot stat: The Green Falcons have lost their second match at each of their last five World Cups – all without scoring.
Spain were held to a shock goalless draw by Cape Verde in their opening Group H game, but the European Champions won’t panic. After all, when they won the World Cup in 2010, they began the tournament with a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland before recovering to lift the trophy.
For starters, Spain are now unbeaten in 31 matches – excluding penalty shoot-outs – while they haven’t lost a competitive match outside of a penalty shoot-out defeat to Portugal since losing 2-0 to Scotland back in March 2023.
However, it’s worth noting that Spain have failed to win any of their last four World Cup matches and have never gone five games at the tournament without a victory. They also haven’t failed to score in consecutive matches across all competitions since 2013.
Saudi Arabia will gain a little dose of hope from this as they bid to cause an upset, as they memorably did at the 2022 World Cup when they beat eventual champions Argentina in their opening game.
Saudi Arabia opened the 2026 edition with a 1-1 draw against Uruguay, which they will hope to build on against Spain. But, since defeating Morocco 2-1 in their first World Cup at USA ’94, Saudi Arabia have lost each of their last five second matches at a World Cup, failing to score in every one of those defeats.
Belgium vs Iran
- Belgium snapshot stat: The Red Devils are looking to extend their unbeaten run to 15 matches.
- Iran snapshot stat: If Iran lose, only Bulgaria (11.54%) would have a worse win rate than Iran (15%) among countries that have played 20+ World Cup matches.
Belgium have been tough to beat under boss Rudi Garcia, who has carved out 14 games without defeat since losing his opening game in charge.
The Red Devils have won nine of those games and, following the frustration of an opening 1-1 draw by Egypt, they will now be targeting all three points against Iran, who have never made it out of the group stages in any of their six previous appearances.
Iran twice clawed their way back from a goal down to draw 2-2 against New Zealand. Team Melli have only won three of their 19 World Cup matches, with just one of those wins coming against European opposition – Wales in 2022 – across 11 games.
If Iran fail to beat Belgium then only Bulgaria (11.54%) would have a worse win rate than Iran (15%) among countries that have played 20+ World Cup matches.
Uruguay vs Cape Verde
- Uruguay snapshot stat: La Celeste are targeting their first competitive win – excluding penalties – outside of Uruguay since they beat the US in July 2024.
- Cape Verde snapshot stat: The Blue Sharks will be attempting to keep their 8th clean sheet in 12 matches.
Cape Verde earned a prized point on their World Cup debut with a remarkable goalless draw against pre-tournament favourites Spain, and they will now aim to make more history by scoring their first goal and securing their first win when they face two-time champions Uruguay.
Bubista’s side are unbeaten in five matches, having kept clean sheets in each of their last three games, and have conceded in just seven of their last 11 matches across all competitions.
Uruguay racked-up 27 shots against Saudi Arabia before rescuing a point 10 minutes from time. They have lost only one of their last nine World Cup group stage games, winning five, but head into this game without a win in five games in all competitions, drawing four.
In fact, La Celeste haven’t won any of their last 10 competitive matches – excluding penalty shoot-outs – since beating the US in July 2024.
New Zealand vs Egypt
- New Zealand snapshot stat: The All Whites are targeting their first World Cup win on their eighth attempt. Only Egypt (8 matches) and Honduras (9) have currently played more games at the tournament without recording a victory.
- Egypt snapshot stat: The Pharaohs have still failed to win a World Cup game since making their debut 92 years ago. If they fail to win again, they will join Honduras as the only country to have played nine World Cup matches without recording a single victory.
Something surely must give in the early hours of Monday morning when New Zealand face Egypt in Seattle, with both sides still searching for their first-ever World Cup win.
Among countries yet to record a World Cup victory, only Honduras (9 matches) have gone longer without one than Egypt (8), who are still hunting for that elusive first victory since the inaugural tournament back in 1930 – 92 years ago!
If the Pharaohs fail to win again at the ninth attempt they will match that unwanted Honduras tally. They can draw confidence from a 1-1 draw against Belgium, a game they led from the 20th minute to the 66th.
Meanwhile, New Zealand are just behind on seven games without a World Cup win. The All Whites twice led against Iran in a 2-2 draw, meaning they’ve only won one of their last 12 games in all competitions, nine of which they’ve lost.
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