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Mon 15 Jun · 16:00 UTC · 18:00 CEST · Group H

full time

Spain0–0Cape Verde Islands

2217+11rating1685+712ndfifa67thup 2
Mikel Merino2113talismanJoão Paulo1576

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta · 71,000 seats

Missed it. It stays up.

Spain to win

home 85%draw 12% ✓away 3%

sealed Thu 11 Jun · 18:54 UTC · 20:54 CEST · nothing deleted

By The DeskScout sourced the formAnalyst reasoned the callGates clearedGrader settled it

locked Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:54:02 GMT · model elo-davidson-features-v1

The read

No prose on this one. The desk let the number do the talking. The call stands, and it goes on the record either way.

The ratings

The two strength reads behind this fixture: our results-based rating, the same forward-only engine the sealed call uses, read monthly, and FIFA's official table. Up is stronger on both lines; green is climbing, red is sliding. Context beside the call; the sealed number does not move.

Spain

ProofXI rating

2217+11 this year

2206 → 2217 · 13 readings

FIFA world rank

2ndheld on the latest list

1st → 2nd · 6 lists

Cape Verde

ProofXI rating

1685+71 this year

1614 → 1685 · 13 readings

FIFA world rank

67thup 2 places on the latest list

67th → 67th · 6 lists

the gap on our board today: Spain by 532 points

How we got hereWe make Spain the stronger side, and seal the call at about 9 in 10. Open for the working.openclose

The arithmetic behind the call: a rating edge, in points, mapped to a probability.

Spain rating edge+557
Home advantage0 (neutral venue)
Net edge+557

Davidson Elo→1X2 turns that +557 edge into 85% / 12% / 3% for home, draw, away.

Ratings only. Recent form and rest are not modelled for national sides.

How it could go

The same sealed edge, played as goals instead of straight to a result: our goals model runs the match score by score. The call above stands, this is its texture.

Spain

2.2

expected goals

Cape Verde Islands

0.4

expected goals

The scorelines it sees most

  • 2017 in 100
  • 1016 in 100
  • 3012 in 100
the fuller goal pictureopenclose
  • 008 in 100

three or more goals: 48 in 100 · clean sheet: Spain 64 in 100, Cape Verde Islands 12 in 100

glassbox-goals-v1, our own goals model, run from the same ratings as the call. Frequencies, never a market.

The scorecard

  • Spain win at home.✗ wrong
  • Spain win comfortably, by two goals or more.✗ wrong
  • Spain keep it tight — at least one side is shut out.✓ right

The team sheets

The confirmed elevens, as named. The number beside each name is his rating on our player board, a sourced shadow signal. The sealed call above was made days before these sheets existed, and it does not move.

Spain4-3-3

  1. 23Unai SimónG1829
  2. 5Marcos LlorenteD1874
  3. 22Pau CubarsíD2035
  4. 14Aymeric LaporteD1843
  5. 24Marc CucurellaD1918
  6. 8Fabián RuizM2024
  7. 16RodriM2038
  8. 20PedriM2049
  9. 7Ferran TorresF2028
  10. 21Mikel OyarzabalF1869
  11. 9Pablo GaviF1641

11 of 11 starters carry folded match data on our board; the rest sit at the seed prior. We rate what we've seen.

The bench

Cape Verde4-1-4-1

  1. 1VozinhaG1554
  2. 22Steven MoreiraD1534
  3. 4PicoD1542
  4. 3Diney BorgesD1553
  5. 13Sidny Lopes CabralD1792
  6. 6Kevin LeniniM1561
  7. 20Ryan MendesM1480
  8. 15Laros DuarteM1523
  9. 10Jamiro MonteiroM1523
  10. 7Jovane CabralM1475
  11. 19Dailon Rocha LivramentoF1459

11 of 11 starters carry folded match data on our board; the rest sit at the seed prior. We rate what we've seen.

The bench

source: api-football.com · fetched Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:03:17 GMT

The timeline

The goals, assists and substitutions as they came, read straight off the match feed, by the clock. Sourced facts; the call above was sealed days before any of them.

  1. 61'W. Semedo for J. Cabralsub
  2. 61'N. Da Costa for D. Livramentosub
  3. 61'D. Duarte for L. Duartesub
  4. 71'M. Merino for F. Ruizsub
  5. 71'Lamine Yamal for Gavisub
  6. 76'Joao Paulo for S. Lopes Cabralsub
  7. 79'T. Arcanjo for J. Monteirosub
  8. 81'D. Olmo for F. Torressub
  9. 87'N. Williams for Rodrisub

source: api-football.com · fetched Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:58:59 GMT

Full time

Missed it.

Spain 0-0 Cape Verde Islands

Verdict
wrong and wrong
Claims right
1/3

The debrief

We sealed Spain to win at 85%, about 9 in 10, before kickoff. Full time said Spain 0-0 Cape Verde Islands: the draw, an outcome we had at 12 in 100.

The call missed and the reasoning went with it. Nothing here gets softened: the claims that failed are named below, and the miss goes on the record at full weight. The claims went 1 of 3.

What we got wrong, by name

  • Spain win at home.
  • Spain win comfortably, by two goals or more.

One match never grades the model, calibration is judged over the whole record, and this one is now in it.

How it moved our numbersThis result nudged our live ratings for both sides. Open for the signed moves.openclose

On the live national Elo, this result moved Spain -28 and Cape Verde Islands +28.

On our player board, the squads moved Spain -53 (15 appearances) · Cape Verde Islands +103 (16 appearances).

Our own ratings, computed from the result, a shadow signal beside the call, never one of its inputs. The sealed forecast above does not move.

THE DESK AT WORK

  1. ScoutSourced the inputsPulled both sides' ratings.
  2. AnalystWeighed the edgeNet edge +557 after home advantage; drafted 3 checkable claims.
  3. ModelMapped it to a distributionDavidson Elo→1X2 → 85/12/3 (home/draw/away).Favourite: Spain · 85%
  4. ScribeFiled the readPrepared the read behind the call.
  5. GatekeeperCleared the gatesNo betting markets · Sourced facts only · No fabricated names · Falsifiable claims, all clear.
  6. The DeskLocked the callLocked Spain v Cape Verde Islands before kickoff.

A replay of how this call was built. Real steps, paced to read. The model owns the favourite; the desk sources and explains it.

Behind the glass

The pipeline

  1. Researchinputs sourced
  2. Forecastlocked before kickoff
  3. Drafthouse template
  4. Gatesall checks passed
  5. Publishshadow
  6. Gradescored vs the result

The checks

  • No betting markets

    The call is built from football strength alone, never a bookmaker's price, as an input or anywhere on the page.

  • Sourced facts only

    Every player, squad or result fact must trace to a dated source under seven days old, or it is blocked before publish.

  • No fabricated names

    A registry blocks invented or mistaken player and team names from ever reaching the page.

  • Falsifiable claims

    Each claim on the scorecard must be checkable against the final result, no vague hedging that can't be graded.