MUNDIAL·26

First Stage · Group H · Saturday, June 27 · Houston Stadium, Houston · 68,278 in the stands

kickoff 19:00 local · 33°C · 48% humidity · roofed stadium

Cabo Verde

0:0

Saudi Arabia

tap a player for their match file

Cabo Verde4-1-4-1
Saudi Arabia4-4-2
VOZINHA7.4DINEY BORGES7.0PICO LOPES7.4WAGNER PINA7.1KEVIN PINA7.1JOAO PAULO7.5JAMIRO MONTEIRO6.6DEROY DUARTE7.3WILLY SEMEDO7.0DAILON LIVRAMENTO6.3RYAN MENDES6.7MOHAMMED ALOWAIS6.8ABDULELAH ALAMRI7.5HASSAN ALTAMBAKTI6.8SAUD ABDULHAMID6.7NAWAF BU WASHL6.9NASSER ALDAWSARI6.6ABDULLAH ALKHAIBARI6.7MOHAMED KANNO6.2FERAS ALBRIKAN6.4SALEM ALDAWSARI6.3SULTAN MANDASH6.5
from the bench

match pulse — xG per 5 minutes · goals · cards

45′90′CPVKSA

goals — hover the strip for every shot and card, with names

  • quiet five minutes — nothing on record
CPV 0:0 KSA0'kickoff
18' S. Al-Dawsari — xG 0.05 · Blocked22' W. Semedo — xG 0.03 · Missed34' Jamiro — xG 0.04 · Blocked39' J. Paulo — xG 0.06 · Missed42' W. Semedo — xG 0.02 · Missed45 + 2' Kanno — xG 0.12 · Saved47' Al-Amri — xG 0.01 · Missed48' Jamiro — xG 0.08 · Saved45 + 4' Abdulhamid — xG 0.01 · Blocked50' Lenini — xG 0.02 · Missed53' R. Mendes — xG 0.08 · Blocked57' D. Duarte — xG 0.03 · Missed67' Al-Shamat — xG 0.04 · Saved75' L. Duarte — xG 0.63 · Saved75' Pico — xG 0.14 · Missed77' J. Paulo — xG 0.03 · Blocked79' Rodrigues — xG 0.04 · Blocked83' N. Al-Dawsari — xG 0.03 · Blocked84' Lenini — xG 0.02 · Missed85' Da Costa — xG 0.03 · Missed86' Pina — xG 0.14 · Blocked90 + 2' Al-Hamdan — xG 0.14 · Saved

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The xG race — cumulative expected goals, minute by minute

CPV 0:0 KSA
0.51.01.50′15′30′45′60′75′90′1.390.40

On paper vs as played — formation sheet vs heatmap reality

CPV 4-1-4-1 attack →, ← KSA 4-4-2 attack. The teamsheet, as announced.

1VOZINHAVOZINHA3DINEY BORGESDINEY BORGES4PICO LOPESPICO LOPES24WAGNER PINAWAGNER PINA6KEVIN PINAKEVIN PINA8JOAO PAULOJOAO PAULO10JAMIRO MONTEIROJAMIRO MONTEIRO14DEROY DUARTEDEROY DUARTE17WILLY SEMEDOWILLY SEMEDO19DAILON LIVRAMENTODAILON LIVRAMENTO20RYAN MENDESRYAN MENDES21MOHAMMED ALOWAISMOHAMMED ALOWAIS4ABDULELAH ALAMRIABDULELAH ALAMRI5HASSAN ALTAMBAKTIHASSAN ALTAMBAKTI12SAUD ABDULHAMIDSAUD ABDULHAMID13NAWAF BU WASHLNAWAF BU WASHL6NASSER ALDAWSARINASSER ALDAWSARI15ABDULLAH ALKHAIBARIABDULLAH ALKHAIBARI23MOHAMED KANNOMOHAMED KANNO9FERAS ALBRIKANFERAS ALBRIKAN10SALEM ALDAWSARISALEM ALDAWSARI20SULTAN MANDASHSULTAN MANDASH

The duel — team data, FIFA tracking included

48%
Possession
42%
1.37
Expected goals
0.35
59
Threat
41
15
Shots
7
2
On target
3
402
Passes completed
370
53
Forced turnovers
42
12.2s
Ball recovery time
13.5s
3.84
High-press phases
7.99
15
Fouls committed
10
2
Offsides
0
115 km
Distance covered
114 km
34.8 km/h
Top speed
33.3 km/h

Territory — where each team lived

Every player's heatmap, minutes-weighted and stacked per team. Cabo Verde attack →, ← Saudi Arabia attack. Brighter is more presence; where the colors meet is the contested ground.

How it happened

  1. 4′SAUD ABDULHAMID (Saudi Arabia) is booked by the referee.
  2. 8′WAGNER PINA (Cabo Verde) is booked by the referee.
  3. 33′ALI LAJAMI (in) comes off the bench to replace HASSAN ALTAMBAKTI (out) (Saudi Arabia)
  4. ′Before the second half begins MUSAB ALJUWAYR (in) comes off the bench to replace ABDULLAH ALKHAIBARI (out) (Saudi Arabia)
  5. 61′HELIO VARELA (in) comes off the bench to replace WILLY SEMEDO (out) (Cabo Verde)
  6. 61′NUNO DA COSTA (in) comes off the bench to replace DAILON LIVRAMENTO (out) (Cabo Verde)
  7. 65′ABDULLAH ALHAMDDAN (in) comes off the bench to replace SULTAN MANDASH (out) (Saudi Arabia)
  8. 65′MOHAMMED ABU ALSHAMAT (in) comes off the bench to replace SALEM ALDAWSARI (out) (Saudi Arabia)
  9. 67′NASSER ALDAWSARI (Saudi Arabia) is booked by the referee.
  10. 71′LAROS DUARTE (in) comes off the bench to replace JAMIRO MONTEIRO (out) (Cabo Verde)
  11. 71′GARRY RODRIGUES (in) comes off the bench to replace RYAN MENDES (out) (Cabo Verde)
  12. 82′MOTEB ALHARBI (in) comes off the bench to replace NAWAF BU WASHL (out) (Saudi Arabia)
  13. 90+3′FERAS ALBRIKAN (Saudi Arabia) is booked by the referee.
  14. 90+4′STEVEN MOREIRA (in) comes off the bench to replace WAGNER PINA (out) (Cabo Verde)

The morning-after column · AI-written from the match data

Cabo Verde's Finishing Fails Where Saudi Discipline Prevails

Cabo Verde dominated Houston with intent and numbers—48 per cent possession, 15 shots, an xG of 1.37—yet Saudi Arabia's 4-4-2 suffocated them into sterility. The visitors pressed with surgical precision across eight high-pressure phases, forcing Cabo Verde's ball recovery time below thirteen seconds. João Paulo and Vozinha orchestrated attacks without reward; the shape was control, the shape was chance creation, but nowhere was there a killer instinct.

The 75th minute crystallised Cabo Verde's night. João Paulo? No—an unnamed attacker with 0.63 expected goals saw his effort saved, the moment that would have read as inevitable victory. Saudi Arabia barely threatened (0.35 xG, seven shots, three on target), yet three defensive touches per shot spoke to their efficiency. Abdulelah Al-Amri's ratings matched João Paulo's at 7.5, yet one team's day ended in frustration, the other in survival.

Cabo Verde mustered 1.37 expected goals across 15 attempts yet failed to break Saudi Arabia's eight high-pressure sequences and clinical 3-on-7 shot conversion.

75′

High-xG Cabo Verde chance saved. Unuttered finish cost the group lead.

What Cabo Verde needed

Dominated but squandered—conversion, not creation, was the absence.

  • Convert high-xG moments: 1.37 expected but zero delivered; 75' save was the reckoning.
  • Exploit Saudi's narrow 4-4-2: 15 shots vs their 7 reveals unused width against two strikers.
  • Sharpen recovery pressure: 12.2s ball recovery was faster than Saudi's 13.5s; press the advantage.

What Saudi Arabia needed

Rode a discipline and escape—pressing won, but finish will demand conversion.

  • Pressed eight high-phase sequences, starving Cabo Verde at build-up; repeat this suffocation.
  • Efficiency survived scarcity: three on-target shots vs their seven, yet xG of 0.35 held the line.
  • Risk: Cabo Verde's 15 shots expose the counter-threat; deep shape survived this time only.