Lamine Yamal marked his return to Spain's starting lineup with a goal as La Roja cruised to a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, while Cape Verde continued their remarkable FIFA World Cup campaign by holding Uruguay to a thrilling draw on Sunday.
After a disappointing goalless draw against tournament debutants Cape Verde in their opening Group H match, European champions Spain delivered the perfect response with a dominant performance against Saudi Arabia.
Making his first start in two months after recovering from a hamstring injury, teenage sensation Lamine Yamal wasted little time making an impact. The Barcelona star opened the scoring before Mikel Oyarzabal struck twice in quick succession, helping Spain race into a commanding 3-0 lead within the opening 24 minutes.
Spain added a fourth shortly after the restart when Marc Cucurella's effort was saved by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, only for the rebound to deflect off defender Hassan Al-Tambakti and into the net.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said his side had used criticism from their opening performance as motivation.
"When someone questions your work, it is only human that anyone with courage and pride reacts to prove people wrong," De la Fuente said.
The victory moves Spain to the top of Group H with four points from two matches.
Cape Verde followed up their stunning draw against Spain with another impressive result, battling back to earn a 2-2 draw against Uruguay in Miami.
Coach Bubista had promised his players would approach the match "without fear," and his side delivered on that promise.
Kevin Pina gave Cape Verde the lead after 21 minutes with a superb free-kick, stunning the two-time World Cup champions.
Uruguay responded before halftime through Maxi Araujo and Agustin Canobbio, whose late goals appeared to have turned the match around and handed the South Americans a 2-1 advantage.
However, Cape Verde refused to back down. In the 61st minute, Helio Varela capitalised on a costly error from Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who rushed off his line and left his goal exposed, allowing Cape Verde to claim another famous point.
The result strengthens Cape Verde's hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the first time.
"We want to show the entire world that we are in the condition to fight for qualification, and I think that's what we showed today," Bubista said.
Belgium's struggles continued in Group G after they were held to a 0-0 draw by Iran in Los Angeles.
The Red Devils dominated possession but failed to break down a disciplined Iranian defence and finished the match with 10 men after Nathan Ngoy was sent off for bringing down Mehdi Taremi following a misplaced backpass.
Iran thought they had taken the lead in the first half through Taremi, but the goal was ruled out by VAR following a well-worked free-kick routine.
The draw leaves Belgium with just two points from two matches after also drawing against Egypt in their opening fixture.
Meanwhile, Egypt climbed to the top of Group G after securing the first World Cup victory in the nation's history with a 3-1 comeback win over New Zealand.
Finn Surman gave New Zealand an early lead, but goals from Mohamed Salah, Mostafa Zico and Trezeguet completed a memorable turnaround.
"It's incredible, I don't know how to express it in words," Salah said."It's a great achievement for all the players and the subs, and hopefully we can make history and qualify first."
With one group match remaining, Egypt are in pole position to finish top of the group, while Belgium face a must-win clash against New Zealand to keep their hopes alive.
