Three of the most storied nations in world football Spain, Belgium and Uruguay were each denied victory on a chaotic Day Five of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as African and Asian underdogs refused to be overawed and rewrote the script across three different venues in the United States.

The biggest shock of the day came in Atlanta, where debutants, Cape Verde produced a sensational defensive display to hold reigning European champions, Spain to a goalless draw.

Sitting in a resolute 5-4-1 formation, the tiny African island nation blunted a Lamine Yamal-less Spanish starting eleven to such an extent that centre forward Mikel Oyarzabal went without a touch of the ball for the opening half hour, the longest any outfield player has gone without a touch since records began at the 1966 World Cup. When Yamal was introduced in the second half, Spain looked more purposeful, but there was simply no way past 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who commanded his defensive unit with extraordinary authority.

The result sent shockwaves through the tournament and left Spain with serious questions to answer ahead of their remaining group fixtures.

In Seattle, Belgium were made to work equally hard before being denied by Egypt in an end-to-end Group G encounter. Emam Ashour handed Egypt the lead with a superb 19th-minute strike from outside the box, a moment made all the more special as it came with Mohamed Salah’s assistance on the Egyptian captain’s 34th birthday. Salah became the first African player on record since 1966 to register a World Cup goal involvement on his birthday. Belgium struggled to find a response for large stretches of the match, but Romelu Lukaku changed the game just 22 seconds after coming on as a substitute, forcing a Mohamed Hany own goal from Thomas Meunier’s cross in the 66th minute to level proceedings. Belgium were unable to build on the equaliser, however, and Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobier stood firm to deny the Red Devils a winner, leaving Group G wide open.

The evening’s drama continued in Miami, where Uruguay faced Saudi Arabia in their Group H opener. Abdulelah Al Amri opened the scoring for Saudi Arabia when he was first to the rebound after Fernando Muslera spilled a long-range effort, sending Uruguay into the dressing room at half-time trailing 1-0. Marcelo Bielsa’s side came out of the blocks roaring in the second half, playing with the aggression and pressing intensity synonymous with their Argentine coach.

Maximiliano Araujo pulled Uruguay level in the 80th minute to rescue a point, but the South Americans will rue squandering a dominant spell of possession that yielded just one goal from 28 shots.

The results mean all four teams in Group H are level on one point each, while Group G is similarly congested. Spain’s unexpected stalemate has elevated France to the top of the World Cup favourites board ahead of their own tournament opener. For Spain, Belgium and Uruguay, the message from Day Five could not be clearer: at this World Cup, no result can be taken for granted.