Football can be wonderfully unpredictable, and Day 5 of the 2026 World Cup was proof of that in the most emphatic fashion. All four matches drew. Every single one. It was — as far as anyone could recall — the first time in World Cup history that an entire matchday produced zero wins.
A Goalkeeper Named Vozinha
The result that sent the football world into a spin came first: Spain 0-0 Cape Verde. The European champions, playing in Kansas City, produced 27 shots. Seven were on target. None went in. The reason? A goalkeeper named Vozinha, who played the game of his life and made save after save after save to keep his country's first ever World Cup clean sheet intact. Spain battered and pressed and created and still could not score. Their best player — 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, freshly returned from injury — came off the bench in the 71st minute and immediately changed the tempo, skinning defenders and creating chances, but even he could not find a way through. "As soon as Lamine came on, he changed how Cape Verde were playing," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said afterwards. The Cape Verde players celebrated at the final whistle as if they had won the tournament. They might as well have done.
Lukaku, 22 Seconds, One Own Goal
Belgium and Egypt produced the day's most entertaining match in Atlanta. Egypt, with Mohamed Salah conducting things from the edge of the opposition's imagination, took the lead in the 20th minute when Emam Ashour whipped a brilliant 20-yard strike past the Belgian goalkeeper. Belgium huffed and puffed and then, in the 66th minute, made a substitution: Romelu Lukaku walked onto the pitch. Within 22 seconds, he had a contribution. Lukaku's movement in the box put Mohamed Hany under sufficient pressure that the Egyptian defender turned a cross into his own net. Barely half a minute on the pitch, and the scores were level. "He is a winner," Belgium's coach said of Lukaku, with the understatement of the day.
The All Whites Dare to Dream
In Los Angeles, Iran and New Zealand produced a genuine thriller. Elijah Just, combining beautifully with Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood, put New Zealand ahead in the seventh minute. Ramin Rezaeian equalised for Iran in the 32nd. Just then restored the lead ten minutes into the second half, rounding off a flowing team move that had the All Whites daring to dream. But Mohebbi headed in from Rezaeian's cross to make it 2-2, and New Zealand — so close to a famous win — had to settle for a point. In any other tournament they might have been disappointed. On this particular day, a draw felt entirely on brand.
Miami, and One More Draw
Finally, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay shared the spoils in Miami in a match that mirrored the day's theme almost perfectly. Saudi Arabia scored from a corner — Abdulelah Al-Amri following up a parried shot — and it looked for long periods as though they might hold on for a famous win. Uruguay had other ideas. With ten minutes remaining, Maximiliano Araújo curled a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper to level. One all. Draw five.
Day 5 at the 2026 World Cup: zero wins, five draws if you count the tournament's spirit, and one goalkeeper from Cape Verde who will be remembered for a very long time.