Group H · FIFA World Cup 2026
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia at FIFA World Cup 2026. Sat, Jun 27, 12:00 AM UTC. NRG Stadium.
Kickoff
Venue
NRG Stadium
Houston
Capacity
72,220
AI Match Analysis
Pre-match fact packAI data updated:
AI analysis was last updated 21h ago and may not reflect recent events.
Multi-model consensus
2 of 2 models agreeEvenly matched on the facts
Tight contest profileDecisive factor: Elo gap 2 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 2
Cape Verde
1578
Saudi Arabia
1576
FIFA ranking: #79 vs #65
Head-to-head
First ever meeting between these sides
Source: eloratings.net — descriptive strength rating, not a prediction
Key players — Cape Verde
- Márcio Rosa · Goalkeeper — Márcio Rosa is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 29.
- Vózinha · Goalkeeper — Vózinha is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 40.
Key players — Saudi Arabia
- Mohammed Al Owais · Goalkeeper — Mohammed Al Owais is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 34.
- Nawaf Al Aqidi · Goalkeeper — Nawaf Al Aqidi is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 26.
Tactical angle
Match status: scheduled; CPV vs KSA kicks off at 2026-06-27T00:00:00Z. This fact-pack analysis for Cape Verde (CPV) and Saudi Arabia (KSA) is tied to group H at NRG Stadium, Houston, USA. Elo lists CPV at 1578 and KSA at 1576, a 2 point gap. Roster data lists CPV with 26 players at average age 29.2, and KSA with 26 players at average age 28. It uses only the verified fact pack and does not add incidents beyond matchState.
What to watch
- • Venue setting: NRG Stadium, Houston, USA.
- • Ranking and Elo comparison: CPV 1578 / KSA 1576 / diff 2.
- • Roster availability and squad size: CPV 26 / KSA 26.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-27T00:00:00Z
- • Status: scheduled
- • Stage: group H
- • Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston
- • FIFA ranks: CPV 79, KSA 65
factpack-template-v1✓ static-checks+factpackeloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Structured fact-pack summary generated from verified match data. Informational only — no predictions, no betting advice.
Kickoff time by timezone
GoalPulse keeps the canonical fixture time in UTC, then renders venue local time and UTC+8 for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur searchers.
Venue local time
America/Chicago
Local stadium time, generated with the venue IANA timezone rather than the server timezone.
UTC+8 time
Asia/Shanghai
Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur all use UTC+8 during the tournament window, so the clock time is identical.
Canonical UTC
UTC
Canonical source timestamp used by schema, datasets and downstream feeds.
Cape Verde local time
Atlantic/Cape_Verde
Primary home-market time for Cape Verde; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Saudi Arabia local time
Asia/Riyadh
Primary home-market time for Saudi Arabia; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Match quick answers
When is Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia?
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia is scheduled for Sat, Jun 27, 12:00 AM UTC. Venue local time is Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 07:00 PM CDT; UTC+8 time for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur is Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 08:00 AM GMT+8. Team-local checks: Cape Verde local time: Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 11:00 PM GMT-1; Saudi Arabia local time: Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 03:00 AM GMT+3.GoalPulse updates match status, scores and fixture links before and during matchday.
Where is Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia played?
The match is played at NRG Stadium in Houston, United States, a venue with capacity for 72,220 supporters.
What stage is this match?
This is a group stage match in Group H of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The top two teams in the group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32.
What are the FIFA rankings and coaches?
Cape Verde are FIFA-ranked #79 and coached by Pedro 'Bubista' Brito. Saudi Arabia are FIFA-ranked #65 and coached by Hervé Renard.
Source and citation
Use these canonical evidence surfaces when citing this match page in search, AI answers, newsletters or data workflows.
Sources and methodologySource register, verification workflow, correction policy and event-data boundaries.Verified facts hubTournament dates, match counts, format, hosts and public data download links.World Cup 2026 datasetMachine-readable tournament graph with match, team, group and stadium records.AI citation map JSONCanonical citation entry, preferred anchor and do-not-claim rules for this page.
Match preview
Cape Verde face Saudi Arabia in the group stage Group H of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Saturday, June 27, 2026. The match kicks off at NRG Stadium in Houston, United States, a venue with a capacity of 72,220.
Saudi Arabia are the higher-ranked side on paper (FIFA #65) facing Cape Verde (#79). The a modest ranking gap between the two sides is 14 places. This is a cross-confederation clash: CAF vs AFC.
Cape Verde are coached by Pedro 'Bubista' Brito, while Saudi Arabia are led by Hervé Renard. Both managers have shaped distinct identities for their squads in the build-up to North America 2026.
In Group H, only the top two teams advance directly to the round of 32, with the third-placed team competing for one of the eight best third-place spots across all 12 groups. A result here can shape the group quickly because the expanded format leaves less recovery margin than a simple top-two table.
FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. A total of 104 matches will be played, the highest in tournament history.
