World Cup 2026: 49 shots without scoring... Spain's worrying drought

15.06.26 FT World Cup

Spain

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Cabo Verde

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Spain failed to live up to its status as favorites, settling for a disappointing draw against Cape Verde (0-0) in their opening match of the World Cup.

Even with Lamine Yamal coming on in the second half, La Roja couldn't break through against a solid and well-organized Cape Verdean side, who, in the process, earned the first point in their history at the tournament.

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

According to Opta, the Iberian side have now taken 49 shots and completed 2,500 passes in World Cup action without finding the net—stretching back to their last goal against Japan at Qatar 2022.

Spain’s last World Cup goal came from Alvaro Morata in the 11th minute of their 2-1 defeat to Japan on matchday three of Group E. The Spaniards were then knocked out by Morocco on penalties in the round of 16—again failing to score.

If Spain hopes to go deep in this tournament and perhaps recapture the glory of 2010, they simply must raise their game up front and show more clinical finishing in the final third.

The pressure is on to finally score this Sunday, June 21, in their second group match against a theoretically more manageable opponent, Saudi Arabia.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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