Putellas '100% confident' Spain's men can still win World Cup after Cape Verde stalemate

Alexia Putellas has dismissed concerns over Spain’s men’s team following their goalless draw with Cape Verde in their 2026 World Cup opener, declaring herself “100% confident” Luis de la Fuente’s side can still win the tournament.

The European champions were held by a Cape Verde side making their World Cup debut, with 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha producing a standout display to deny a Spanish team ranked second in the world. Cape Verde sit 65 places below Spain in the FIFA rankings and were appearing in the newly-expanded 48-team tournament for the first time.

Putellas, one of the most decorated players in Spanish football history and a central figure in the women’s team’s 2023 World Cup triumph, was quick to put the result in perspective.

“I’m super excited,” she said. “They are really good players so we are very excited and it was a draw, but we know it’s just the beginning so we are 100% confident with them. We have a lot of games so it’s not how you start, it’s how you progress. Now it’s too early to talk about favourites, but I’m sure we will see great football and great games — I expect that.”

Spain entered the tournament as one of the leading contenders in Group H alongside Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. The draw leaves them with work to do, but Putellas — who knows the weight of the Spanish shirt from her own international career — sees no cause for alarm at this early stage.

“I love when we play with the national team,” she added. “It’s a special feeling because you feel like you represent all of your country, everybody. It doesn’t matter the club you support, it’s the team of everybody you know so it’s very special. The feeling you have that everybody is watching the competition, all the world is focused on that — that’s my favourite thing about World Cups.”

Spain’s men won the World Cup in 2010, and Putellas’ women’s side matched that achievement in 2023 by beating England in the final in Australia. That experience of navigating high-pressure international football on the biggest stage gives the Barcelona forward a particular insight into how Spain’s men might respond to an early stumble.