Carnage at World Cup as three heavyweights stunned and coach sacked after just one game

There were extraordinary scenes at the FIFA World Cup on Monday as heavyweight nations Spain, Belgium and Uruguay all had to settle for draws with lower-ranked opponents Cabo Verde, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Cabo Verde caused one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history when they held tournament favourites Spain to a 0-0 draw.

World No.9 Belgium were then held to a 1-1 draw by 29th-ranked Egypt, while 60th-ranked Saudi Arabia stunned Uruguay (18th) with a 1-1 draw as well. It all came after Tunisia made the explosive decision to sack manager Sabri Lamouchi just one game into their campaign.

Tunisia suffered a 5-1 loss to Sweden in their opening group game, and it's cost Lamouchi his job. The Tunisian Football Association said in a statement: "An agreement has been officially reached to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi. Plans are underway ‌to appoint ‌Mondher Kebaier as the national team ‌coach [on an interim basis]."

Lamouchi only took charge in January and was in the job for just five games. He led Tunisia to a 1-0 over Haiti, but that was his only success. Tunisia suffered a 5-0 loss to Belgium in their final warm-up game.

Kebaier previously led the national team from 2019 to 2022. Tunisia have never made it past the group stage at a World Cup and face Japan and the Netherlands in their next two games.

Cabo Verde produce stunning result against Spain

Meanwhile, there was an all-time upset in Monday's opening game when Spain had to settle for a 0-0 draw with World Cup debutants Cabo Verde. 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was the hero, keeping the World No.2 Spain off the scoresheet.

Spain are the favourites to win the tournament, but suffered an almighty shock against a Cabo Verde side playing their first-ever game at a World Cup. The result in Atlanta is the biggest shock of the tournament so far.

Leading Spanish website 'Marca' labelled the result "a disaster to start with", although Spain coach Luis de la Fuente ws trying to stay calm. "You fix things by sticking to the same plan, continuing to improve with more finesse," he said.

"It's these matches where ... you create a lot, but without the sharpness you need in these games. They are a very organised team. We saw that they sat deep as a unit. It's very difficult to create spaces like that, yet we did create some. We lacked a bit of movement to create more, but when it doesn't want to go in, it doesn't want to go in."

With a population of just 500,000 people, Cabo Verde were expected to cop some thrashings in the expanded World Cup. But they showed the world they're here to play.

There was another fairly big shock in the day's second game when Belgium were held to a 1-1 draw with Egypt. Saudi Arabia then threatened to upset Uruguay and held on for a 1-1 draw of their own.

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