European Champions, Spain, clash with Cape Verde in Atlanta.
Spain vs Cape VerdeSee All Odds
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Spain begin their quest for a second World Cup crown when they face tournament newcomers Cape Verde in Atlanta on Monday evening.
Widely regarded as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, Luis de la Fuente's European champions arrive in North America unbeaten in their last 10 matches and boasting one of the most talented squads at the tournament.
For Cape Verde, this marks a historic occasion as they make their World Cup debut after an impressive qualifying campaign. While the Blue Sharks have exceeded expectations to reach this stage, they now face the ultimate test against a Spain side expected to challenge deep into the competition.
Check out our best bets for the match, featuring a 13/2 bet builder.
Spain vs Cape Verde Best Bet
Recommended bet: Ferran Torres Man Of The Match
Best odds: 6/1 (Bet365)
Advised stake: 0.5pts
Ferran Torres looks set to start this match and is a player who needs to make a statement here.
With Yamal and Williams' minutes likely to be managed with both nursing injuries, Torres has an opportunity to show manager, Luis de la Fuente, that he deserves a spot in the starting lineup.
Six goals or assists in his last eight internationals, 20 goals in all competitions for Barcelona.
This is a golden opportunity to grab a couple goals against a side that should struggle to contain Spain's attack.
Despite being just 26, he brings a lot of major tournament experience to this Spain side and having delivered in the opener in 2022 with two goals when Spain routed Costa Rica 7-0, I see no reason why he cant do it again.
Manager De La Fuente has spoken very highly of the forward during qualifiers: “I met Ferran when he was 16. He can play in any position: right wing, left wing, striker... His performance rate is spectacular. He has extraordinary stats, and wherever he plays, he always performs well. We’re lucky to have him.".
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Who is favourite to win in Spain vs Cape Verde
The bookmakers are giving Cape Verde very little chance of causing an upset, with Spain priced at 1/11 to begin their World Cup campaign with a victory. Those odds reflect both Spain's status as one of the tournament favourites and the sizeable gap in quality between the European champions and World Cup debutants Cape Verde.
The 14/1 draw (bet365) suggests the market sees Cape Verde's best hope as frustrating Spain for long periods rather than matching them blow for blow, while the 40/1 (Unibet) on a Cape Verde win underlines just how unlikely an upset is considered. Given Spain's depth, dominance of possession and ability to break down low blocks, the more interesting betting angles may lie in the goals and player markets rather than the match result itself.
Spain vs Cape Verde Bet Builder Tip
The bet builder pays a best price of 13/2 with bet365 at the time of writing. To get the best odds on your Bet Builder visit Oddschecker's Bet Builder Comparison Tool.
Spain Over 3.5 Goals
I expect Spain to score plenty of goals here, as Cape Verde simply are not equipped to deal with their fluid movement and attacking quality. Spain should be far too quick and technically gifted for Cape Verde to contain over 90 minutes.
Even if Cape Verde sit in a deep low block and allow Spain to dominate possession, Spain have repeatedly shown they are capable of breaking down compact defences, doing so against far stronger opposition during qualification. Cape Verde will likely look to catch Spain on the counter-attack through direct balls towards the pace of Livramento, but this Spanish side is one of the best teams in the world when it comes to rest defence and managing transitions. They are comfortable defending one-versus-one and even one-versus-two situations.
Cape Verde could also attempt to press high. Turkey enjoyed some success doing that against Spain during qualifying, but Cape Verde have struggled to execute a coordinated press consistently, and teams with far less quality than Spain have been able to play through them. Spain should have answers to whatever approach Cape Verde take. They are simply too good not to eventually break down the low block, and once they do, the floodgates could open.
Ferran Torres Anytime Scorer
Torres is expected to start against Cape Verde, with Lamine Yamal unlikely to be risked from the outset. Spain initially feared Yamal would miss the tournament completely after suffering a hamstring injury that ruled him out of Barcelona's title run-in. Although he has recovered, he has yet to play a competitive minute since the injury, making it unlikely that he will be thrown straight back into the starting lineup. Nico Williams is also a doubt.
Ferran Torres has quietly become a hugely important player for Spain, registering 24 goals and eight assists in 57 appearances for his country. He scored twice at the last World Cup and now sits among Spain's top 10 all-time goalscorers.
Spain's third-choice captain scored 16 La Liga goals in 33 appearances this season and has found the net in five of his last nine starts for the national team.
He also has a point to prove. With competition for places fierce, Torres knows a strong performance here could strengthen his claim to keep his spot in the side.
Pedri Assist
Spain's fluid movement, quick attacking combinations and expected dominance of possession should create plenty of opportunities for their midfielders to influence the game in the final third, particularly against a Cape Verde side likely to defend deep.
Pedri has been one of the most creative midfielders in La Liga this season. He led the division for final-third passes (772) and successful final-third passes (664), ranked third for through balls (21) and also placed third for successful line-breaking passes.
He also recorded the most open-play assists in La Liga with nine.
His ability to drift into pockets of space unnoticed will be crucial against Cape Verde's low block, while his vision and passing range make him one of Spain's most likely creators. Pedri's knack for producing decisive line-breaking passes should come into play regularly in this matchup.
Extremely mobile and often difficult for opponents to track, he drifts across the pitch, drops deep to help build attacks and pushes forward between the lines when opportunities arise. He has spent the entire season helping Barcelona break down deep defensive blocks, and that experience should prove invaluable here.
Spain vs Cape Verde Player Prop Bet
Recommended bet: Pedri Assist
Best odds: 29/10 (Ladbrokes)
Advised stake: 0.75pts
Or
Recommended bet: Pedro Porro Assist
Best odds: 16/5 (Ladbrokes)
Advised stake: 0.5pts
With goals expected and not too much value knocking about on the anytime goalscorer markets, assists might be a good place to look.
Two players stand out as good chances to create an assist in this game.
Pedri and Porro rank 1 and 2 in this Spain side for shot creating chances in the last 10 games.
- Pedri: 3.29 per 90
- Porro 2.76 per 90
Pedri will be essential to breaking down the low block and his line breaking passes and creativity will almost definitely come into play.
There is a chance that Porro doesn't start this game but if he does an assist could be on the cards. Porro won't be defending too much in this game and will almost definitely be creating overloads down the right hand side and helping the attack like we see him do so often for Tottenham.
