Our best bets for Spain's opening game of the World Cup include a clean sheet for the European champions.
European champions Spain kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign against newcomers Cape Verde, who are the second-smallest country by land area in the tournament, with only Curacao being smaller.
Spain possesses an elite squad, with many of the players who won Euro 2024 still featuring, and it’s no surprise to see them arrive as pre-tournament favourites in the World Cup betting.
They will be looking to avoid any slip-ups in their opening match with a long tournament ahead of them. We’ve picked out a bet builder for the game.
Spain v Cape Verde Bet Builder Tips
Cape Verde under 0.5 goals @ 8/15
Pedri – 1+ shot on target @ 17/20
Kevin – 2+ tackles @ 1/5
Pays out at 3/1
Spain to shut out debutants
La Roja are good at many things, but one of their biggest strengths is their style of play, which focuses on keeping possession and limiting the opposition to very few chances.
In the group stage of Euro 2024, Spain conceded zero goals, and that was against Croatia, Italy and Albania, three sides who are all stronger than Cape Verde.
Spain are likely to overwhelm the Blue Sharks and, when they find themselves a few goals ahead, they’ll spend the rest of the game comfortably knocking the ball around with lots of short passes.
Even if Cape Verde do manage to create a few opportunities, they don’t exactly possess plenty of firepower up front.
It’ll likely take a major mistake for Spain to concede and 8/15 for them to keep a clean sheet is actually quite generous.
Leg 1: Cape Verde under 0.5 goals @ 8/15
Pedri a fair price to hit the target
He’s not the first name you’d put down to register a shot on target, but Pedri is certainly capable, averaging 1.8 shots per game throughout qualifying, with two goals to his name as well.
This is very much a game where everybody could get involved for Spain and it’s inevitable that the ball will fall to him in a shooting position at some stage during the 90 minutes.
The fact that Cape Verde will likely sit back and double up on La Roja’s more obvious attacking threats could present an opportunity for Pedri.
If you wanted to get a little more adventurous, it may even be worth looking at the price of him to score, but the odds of him simply registering a shot on target are far more realistic and worth adding to the bet builder.
Leg 2: Pedri – 1+ shot on target @ 17/20
Kevin the one who’ll need to stop Spain
We’ve already said that we expect Spain to dominate possession, meaning it will be down to Cape Verde to win the ball back and that won’t be easy as La Roja can keep possession for fun.
Krasnodar midfielder Kevin stands out as someone who consistently puts a shift in for Cape Verde, with the data showing he averages 2.4 tackles per game.
In a match like this, his services will be required more than ever, so backing him to make 2+ tackles looks a solid way to round off the bet builder.
Leg 3: Kevin – 2+ tackles @ 1/5
