With a value gap of 22 times—does one player from Yamal alone top three Cape Verde teams? Spain’s lineup is just too luxurious.

Let’s do a quick math problem. Spain’s whole squad has a total value of 1.22 billion euros. Cape Verde’s whole squad has a total value of about 52 million to 54.5 million euros. 1.22 billion divided by 54.5 million is roughly 22 times.

Let’s look at it another way: the most valuable player in Spain is 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, worth as much as 200 million euros. Cape Verde’s most valuable player is Logan Costa, a center-back who plays for Villarreal, valued at roughly 18 million euros. Yamal alone is equivalent to more than three times the entire Cape Verde squad. This kind of disparity is really rare at a World Cup.

Even more striking is this: Spain is the defending European Championship title holder, while Cape Verde is playing in the World Cup for the first time. Spain’s midfield includes Rodri (the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner), Pedri, and Fabián Ruiz—any one of the three is world-class. On Cape Verde’s side, only center-back Logan Costa comes from one of the top five European leagues. Most players come from the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the Turkish Süper Lig, and even the second tier of Major League Soccer. That’s the difference between top-tier professional league players and players from a “beginner village.”

Of course, squad value doesn’t mean everything. In the end, football is about 11 people playing. But when the gap in value gets to this degree, it basically means each position is at a disadvantage in one-on-one matchups. If Spain performs normally, Cape Verde really won’t be able to hold them off.

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