Marc Cucurella said the draw against Cape Verde has made the Spain side a lot more alert heading into the remainder of the cup. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Spain’s shock 0-0 draw with ​Cape Verde in their World Cup opener ⁠was a wake-up call, defender Marc Cucurella said on Thursday, with the team preparing for a similar match against Saudi Arabia ‌this weekend.

“Maybe with this scare we’ve put ourselves on alert,” Cucurella told reporters. “We realised that ‌it’s not easy to be here, that we ‌have ⁠to be 100% focused in every match ... because ⁠any team can beat you.”

“I think it’s good that it happened to us in the first match,” he continued. “Because maybe it happens ​to you in another ‌round and you go home.” Spain was not the only top team to struggle in its opening game at the tournament, with Portugal and Belgium also ‌held to draws by lower-ranked opponents.

“It’s becoming clear, ​not just for us, that no match has been easy,” Cucurella said. “All the teams that ⁠have come here, are here because they qualified, because they’re talented.” After being kept off the scoresheet by Cape ‌Verde, Cucurella said Spain was expecting a similar challenge on Sunday when it faces Saudi Arabia, who drew 1-1 with Uruguay in its opening game.

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“A very good team defensively that will try to take advantage of their counter-attacking options,” Cucurella said of Saudi Arabia, ‌which at the 2022 World Cup pulled off a stunning 2-1 ​victory over eventual champions Argentina.

Cucurella said Spain was not expecting to replicate its unbeaten run ⁠from the 2024 European Championship at the World Cup, but ⁠the team is eager to bring its best version to the pitch on Sunday.

“We know what ‌we’ve missed, we’re working on it this week,” he said. “And hopefully we can play a great match ​and secure those three points.”

Published on Jun 19, 2026