AtleticoSport.es
·19 Juni 2026
Spain open with draw, Llorente starts; Pubill and Baena unused

In partnership with
Yahoo sportsAtleticoSport.es
·19 Juni 2026

The Spanish National Team made its World Cup debut in the United States, Mexico, and Canada against Cape Verde, in a match that ended in a dull goalless draw and one point for Spain. In this first World Cup match, Marcos Llorente was the only Atlético de Madrid player to get minutes, starting the game and playing the full match. Meanwhile, neither Pubill nor Baena had the chance to play under Luis de la Fuente.
Marcos Llorente’s World Cup debut with Spain was not the best, also influenced by Cape Verde’s style of play. Playing as a full-back, the Atlético man completed the entire match, covering 9.8 kilometers. He made four defensive contributions and completed two tackles, both successfully. Despite modest numbers by his usual standards, he made two clearances and recovered four balls. All in all, it was a solid defensive performance from the rojiblanco.
In attack, he played three key passes, but only managed to deliver one successful cross into the Cape Verde box. All in a match in which he completed a total of 82 passes, with a 93% success rate. Of those, in the opposition half he completed 59 out of 64, with a 92% success rate.
With this draw, Spain sits third in the group after the 1-1 draw between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Their next match will be against the Arab side, also on American soil. They will close out the group against Uruguay and José María Giménez.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.







































