Dugout Discussion
15 June 2026 97 comments
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Much-fancied Spain get their World Cup campaign underway on Monday, when they face Cape Verde.

La Roja are considered one of the favourites to win this tournament, so they should, in theory, find it relatively easy to overcome the World Cup newcomers.

Kick-off in Atlanta is at 17:00 BST.

TEAM NEWS

Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are only fit enough for the bench after injury.

With an ownership of nearly 40%, Yamal is the fourth most-owned player in World Cup Fantasy.

Spain’s two other most-owned players, Marc Cucurella and Mikel Oyarzabal, are both included in Luis de la Fuente’s starting line-up.

Unai Simon is preferred to David Raya in goal, while Marcos Llorente gets the nod over Pedro Porro at right-back.

No Cape Verde player features in more than 0.6% of Fantasy squads.

LINE-UPS

Spain XI: Simon, Llorente, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Pedri, Rodri, Ruiz, Torres, Gavi, Oyarzabal

Subs: Raya, J Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, E Garcia, Porro, Merino, Baena, Zubimendi, Olmo, Pino, Williams, Yamal, Munoz, Iglesias

Cape Verde XI: Vozinha, Moreira, Lopes, Borges, S Cabral, K Pina, L Duarte, Mendes, Monteiro, J Cabral, Livramento

Subs: Rosa, dos Santos, Stopira, Costa, W Pina, Pires, Paulo, D Duarte, Y Semedo, Arcanjo, Benchimol, Rodrigues, W Semedo, da Costa, Varela


97 Comments Login to Post a Comment
  1. FPL Brains
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • Has Moderation Rights
    • 14 Years
    6 hours, 29 mins ago

    Looks like Yamal will be the first player I'll be swapping out to the bench.

    1. TafOnTour1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 2 Years
      6 hours, 21 mins ago

      He might come on and do bits, you never know!

  2. Bobby Digital
    • 8 Years
    6 hours, 20 mins ago

    No Porro 😮

  3. PartyTime
    • 4 Years
    6 hours, 16 mins ago

    Laporte(c) for the haha

  4. El Muñeco
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    6 hours ago

    Swap 9 points for Oyazerbal?

    1. Bobby Digital
      • 8 Years
      5 hours, 56 mins ago

      I'm sticking, missed out on Havertz yesterday though.

  5. Qaiss
    • 10 Years
    5 hours, 58 mins ago

    Clive Tyldesley must have done something bad to someone at ITV to be removed in favour of Sam Matterface

    Matterface is horrendous

    1. Jafooli
      • 14 Years
      5 hours, 34 mins ago

      Do you remember Dougie Donnelly & Hazel Irvine?

      Ruined the game in Scotland for many years…

  6. Bobby Digital
    • 8 Years
    5 hours, 36 mins ago

    Let's go Oyarzabal!

    1. JBG
      • 8 Years
      5 hours, 34 mins ago

      At least 2 goals

    2. Assisting the assister
      • 10 Years
      5 hours, 30 mins ago

      Got 0-0 written all over it

      1. Bobby Digital
        • 8 Years
        5 hours, 29 mins ago

        No urgency from Spain yet. If you compare to Germany yesterday for example.

        1. Mozumbus
          • 4 Years
          5 hours, 24 mins ago

          Yes, looks like they're targeting 1-0 or 2-0

        2. Jafooli
          • 14 Years
          5 hours, 24 mins ago

          Need a CV goal to kick Spain up the backside…

  7. JBG
    • 8 Years
    5 hours, 21 mins ago

    Shite pass from Torres and shite first touch from Oya

  8. JBG
    • 8 Years
    5 hours, 12 mins ago

    Oh fck off! Would've been perfect -_-

  9. Thanos
    • 4 Years
    5 hours, 11 mins ago

    Spain making it look like they’re playing Argentina. Pedestrian to say the least.

    1. JBG
      • 8 Years
      5 hours, 10 mins ago

      Despise the way they play.. pass, pass, pass, is that a opening for a shot? I'll better pass...

      1. Thanos
        • 4 Years
        5 hours, 7 mins ago

        True that

      2. Mozumbus
        • 4 Years
        5 hours, 2 mins ago

        They have been like this from always i think

        1. JBG
          • 8 Years
          4 hours, 57 mins ago

          As far as I can remember, they starting playing like this when Pep took over Barcelona.

          1. Mozumbus
            • 4 Years
            4 hours, 55 mins ago

            Tika taka
            It was there from before Pep but he took that to new "heights"

            1. JBG
              • 8 Years
              4 hours, 53 mins ago

              Shiti sata.

              1. Mozumbus
                • 4 Years
                4 hours, 52 mins ago

                Lol

  10. Mozumbus
    • 4 Years
    5 hours, 11 mins ago

    What a header, unfortunate

  11. BeaversWithAttitude
    • 7 Years
    5 hours, 7 mins ago

    Woo wee! Cape Verde says 'no way, José!'

  12. Jafooli
    • 14 Years
    5 hours, 2 mins ago

    HT 0-0 lol…

  13. PartyTime
    • 4 Years
    4 hours, 58 mins ago

    Match as boring as la liga. Well done! Cabo verde

    1. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      4 hours, 52 mins ago

      I think cabo verde is staying in their limits, compared to Curacao, and other difference is the goalie

  14. BeaversWithAttitude
    • 7 Years
    4 hours, 55 mins ago

    Loving the performance of Capo Verde's 40-year-old keeper Vozinha! Get in, old man!

    1. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      4 hours, 53 mins ago

      True
      He's playing a fatherly role, saviour of the family
      I like him when he gets angry like a typical father lol

  15. WibblesTeam
    • 8 Years
    4 hours, 53 mins ago

    Any MD2 wildcard suggestions? I just rage deleted my team over forgetting to change captain to Oyarzabal and now I need to wildcard to fix it

    1. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      4 hours, 52 mins ago

      Haha

  16. Mozumbus
    • 4 Years
    4 hours, 50 mins ago

    Am I the only one who came to know through this world cup only that curacao and cabo verde are some countries

    1. z13
      • 1 Year
      4 hours, 48 mins ago

      Definitely not

      1. Mozumbus
        • 4 Years
        4 hours, 40 mins ago

        That's reassuring
        I had a funny story about Belize as well, which i never heard before i had an interesting encounter
        This was a few years back, I used to give early Sunday mornings free walking tours around the heritage town of my city, Karachi, Pakistan, through couch surfing
        A guy attended it, looked like a local, he was there even before I reached the venue
        He could also speak Urdu, our language in Pakistan, but not fluently
        I asked him where he was from, he said Belize
        First I thought it was some village outside the city, lol
        Then I realised it could be something else, he told me it is a country near Mexico, other side of the globe
        I was still puzzled, mostly because he could speak urdu
        So he told me that his grandparents actually belonged to Sindh (a province in Pakistan) and migrated to Belize during the 1947 partition to Belize, being Hindus, along with 50+ families, and made a small communing in Belize which still exists out there

  17. gooberman
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 hours, 49 mins ago

    I feel that the BBC and ITV really need to shake things up a bit and give someone else a chance. Always the same commentators, co-commentators and pundits in the studio. So bored of listening to Lee Dixon and Ian Wright.

    1. bso
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 hours, 43 mins ago

      If you had US commentators, you would know how lucky you are lol!

      1. gooberman
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 14 Years
        4 hours, 41 mins ago

        Lol

  18. Drop Dead Tsimikas
    • 14 Years
    4 hours, 39 mins ago

    Welp, Oyarzabal has been a bust so far...

    1. Gizzachance
      • 11 Years
      4 hours, 23 mins ago

      Yep, my Captain!

    2. Mozumbus
      • 4 Years
      4 hours, 22 mins ago

      I switched him for Jimenez just before the tournament started, feeling good so far

    3. bso
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 hours, 22 mins ago

      Has he even touched the ball?

      1. GreennRed
        • 14 Years
        4 hours, 21 mins ago

        Badly

  19. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    4 hours, 30 mins ago

    Cape verde Caoch knows the Fantasy rules.
    Waits 60 mins before making the subs.

  20. -GK22-
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 14 Years
    4 hours, 29 mins ago

    What happened to all the good Spanish strikers

    1. Freshy
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 15 Years
      4 hours, 27 mins ago

      they are on my squad

      1. Jafooli
        • 14 Years
        4 hours, 15 mins ago

        Lol…

    2. JBG
      • 8 Years
      4 hours, 26 mins ago

      They all wanted to be the next Iniesta or Fabregas

  21. BeaversWithAttitude
    • 7 Years
    4 hours, 28 mins ago

    Population of Spain 47.9 million
    Population of Cabo Verde 529,630

    1. Silecro
      • 8 Years
      4 hours, 19 mins ago

      Heard just now on commentary that Spain has 2x more registered football players (around 1 milion) than Cabo Verde has people in the country. What a stat!

      1. BeaversWithAttitude
        • 7 Years
        4 hours, 12 mins ago

        Wow, that is mad!

  22. EmreCan Hustle
    • 13 Years
    4 hours, 19 mins ago

    Huge ROAR for Merino!

    What a superstar!

  23. keefy59
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 hours, 18 mins ago

    These drinks breaks are handy for getting another can from the fridge
    Without missing any of the action
    Although I use the word "action" very lightly in this game so far

    1. Jafooli
      • 14 Years
      4 hours, 15 mins ago

      No cool box by the lazy boy? Rookie….

      1. keefy59
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        4 hours, 10 mins ago

        If I was single yes

        1. Jafooli
          • 14 Years
          4 hours ago

          Get the wife a lazy girl and wine rack…

  24. PartyTime
    • 4 Years
    4 hours, 18 mins ago

    Laporte scouting bonus get IN

  25. Christina.
    • 16 Years
    4 hours, 18 mins ago

    Spain is K@k

  26. Jafooli
    • 14 Years
    4 hours, 16 mins ago

    If Spain draw this, they win the WC, slow burn style…

    1. keefy59
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      4 hours, 8 mins ago

      In danger of not winning the group
      Would coming second in the group give them a potential easier side of the knockout draw ?

  27. Nomar
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 16 Years
    4 hours, 8 mins ago

    Hooooold, Cape Verde!!!!

  28. SM001
    • 10 Years
    4 hours, 7 mins ago

    POOPurella

  29. FOREST FOREVER 2
    • 1 Year
    4 hours, 5 mins ago

    Football without Goals is just like Love without ....................

    1. SM001
      • 10 Years
      4 hours, 4 mins ago

      It's called marriage

  30. Jafooli
    • 14 Years
    4 hours, 2 mins ago

    CV corner in final minute of game lol…

    1. Jafooli
      • 14 Years
      4 hours, 1 min ago

      …ha, nearly