World Cup Day 5 What to Watch: Lamine Yamal debuts, Belgium and Egypt face off

The 2026 World Cup continues on Monday with Groups G and H in action.

At long last, it's here: The World Cup debut of Lamine Yamal . The 18-year-old phenom is set to take the field at the World Cup for the first time in his young career, as Spain opens the group stage against Cape Verde.

Yamal, who has been recovering from a hamstring injury, is likely to sub on rather than start. But hopefully Yamal does make his way into the game to give viewers a glimpse of his brilliance in what is expected to be a pretty easy win for Spain.

Cape Verde, the second-smallest country in the tournament, is also set to make its World Cup debut with this game. The archipelago island nation had an unlikely run through World Cup qualification, eventually punching its ticket in October. Though a win on Monday is doubtful, Cape Verde will put its best foot forward behind veteran captain Ryan Mendes , a 36-year-old midfielder with the most caps and goals in the nation's history.

Group stage play for Group G will open with Belgium and Egypt, as Belgium hopes to start the 2026 World Cup on a strong note. Belgium achieved its best result just two cycles ago with a third-place finish in 2018, but suffered an immense disappointment after getting grouped in 2022.

This summer will offer a chance to get their World Cup history back on track. Led by veterans Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku , Belgium also has up-and-coming talents like Man City winger Jérémy Doku who will hope to make a splash in the group stage.

Egypt, meanwhile, will be guided by veteran forward Mohamed Salah , who has captained the team since 2019. Egypt has never won a game at the World Cup, going 0-2-5 in three tournament appearances. Salah, 33, is likely heading into his last World Cup, and will hope to lead Egypt to that long-awaited first win — if not against Belgium, then later in the group stage.

Just four years removed from failing to advance to the group stage — despite tying for second on points, but getting grouped based on goals — Uruguay is back to try and create a different ending. That starts with a matchup against Saudi Arabia to open the group stage, with Uruguay hoping to kick things off with a statement win against a theoretically straightforward opponent.