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The teams that are ranked 61st, 67th and 85th successful FIFA's satellite rankings each were dense underdogs successful their archetypal matches astatine the World Cup.
They each played Monday (June 15, 2026). None of them won. None of them lost, either.
Through 5 days and 16 matches of soccer's biggest extravaganza ever, the underdogs are proving to beryllium precise pugnacious to beat. All 4 matches connected Monday (June 15, 2026) ended successful ties — the astir successful a azygous time of men's World Cup play since 1958 — and each of them technically could beryllium considered upsets arsenic well.
The biggest triumph (that wasn't a win) of each saw Cape Verde — ranked No. 67 and successful its World Cup debut — clasp No. 2 Spain, a favourite to triumph the full thing, 0-0 successful what easy has been the biggest shocker of the tourney to this point.
“It means everything,” said Cape Verde manager Pedro Leitão Brito, who simply goes by Bubista.
The different Monday results:
— No. 85 New Zealand, the lowest-ranked squad retired of the 48 qualifiers entering the World Cup, tied No. 20 Iran 2-2.
— No. 61 Saudi Arabia tied No. 16 Uruguay 1-1.
— No. 29 Egypt tied No. 9 Belgium 1-1.
For Monday's (June 15, 2026) underdogs, the ties were a beauteous large deal. But adjacent they knew what the Cape Verde people meant successful the expansive strategy of things.
“The gully involving Spain,” Saudi Arabia manager Georgios Donis said, “may beryllium the biggest astonishment successful this World Cup.” Four years ago, the Saudis opened with a shocking triumph implicit eventual champion Argentina.
The World Cup isn't similar the NCAA tournament. Nobody is eliminated oregon assured of advancing nary substance the result of their archetypal match. But if this lawsuit was much similar March Madness, it's definite that plentifulness of brackets would already beryllium busted.
Spain was -1500 to bushed Cape Verde according to likelihood posted conscionable earlier the lucifer started Monday. Those are overwhelming odds, ones that mean bettors would person had to wager $1,500 conscionable to nett $100. And oddsmakers successful Las Vegas said Spain was picked to triumph successful a slew of parlays, each of which were rapidly doomed.
“This shows however hard it is to play (the archetypal game) successful a World Cup,” Uruguay's Maxi Araújo said. “We've seen that they are hard — not lone successful our group, but successful galore groups.” He's right. And there's not overmuch borderline of mistake present successful Groups F and H.
Teams are guaranteed 3 group-stage matches astatine the World Cup, 1 against each of the different 3 teams successful their group. The apical 2 finishers successful each of the 12 groups are assured of reaching the knockout stage; the 8 champion third-place teams besides volition advance.
But successful Group F (New Zealand, Iran, Belgium and Egypt) and Group H (Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Cape Verde), everyone has precisely 1 constituent with 2 matches left. Teams get 3 points for a win, nary points for a loss.
“A batch of positives to physique on,” New Zealand's Elijah Just said.
The upsets-that-were-ties inclination didn't commencement Monday. There were 2 different important ones earlier successful the tournament: No. 56 Qatar tied No. 19 Switzerland 1-1, and No. 64 Bosnia and Herzegovina tied No. 30 Canada 1-1.
Through the archetypal 16 matches, 8 ended successful ties. The different 2 weren't precisely of the shocking variety: No. 18 Japan was a flimsy underdog going into its 2-2 necktie with No. 8 Netherlands, and No. 6 Brazil and No. 7 Morocco — arsenic would beryllium expected, fixed however adjacent they are successful the satellite rankings — tied their opening lucifer 1-1.
There's been lone 1 lucifer done Monday wherever a squad was 10 oregon much spots beneath its hostile successful the FIFA satellite rankings going successful and won: No. 33 Ivory Coast beating No. 23 Ecuador 1-0.
Not precisely a shocker. But immoderate of these ties would suffice arsenic such.
“Football is similar that,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said. “There are nary tiny opponents here.”
