Cape Verde did not win, but they delivered a World Cup debut for the ages by stifling Spain in a 0-0 draw during the opening match for both teams in Group H in Atlanta.
Spain Dominates but Cannot Break Through
European champions Spain controlled the match in all phases but were unable to break down Cape Verde, the fifth-lowest ranked team in the tournament at No. 67. As a result, the pair produced the first scoreless draw of this year's event.
Vozinha the Hero for Cape Verde
The Blue Sharks have goalkeeper Vozinha largely to thank for the result. The 40-year-old finished his country's first World Cup match with seven saves. Spain's first major chance came in the 39th minute when Marc Cucurella headed the ball down to Ferran Torres, who clanged the shot off the crossbar. The rebound fell to Mikel Oyarzabal, but his header was tipped over by Vozinha. Vozinha had already produced a fine reaction save to deny Torres and then turned away Aymeric Laporte's glancing header. Fabian Ruiz had another strong opportunity to open the scoring with a header in the box in the 56th minute, but directed it right at Vozinha.
"I'm very proud, very happy not only for myself but all the players, and all Cape Verdeans, we worked very hard to be here," said Vozinha. There would now be a party back home at his mother's house. "Unfortunately she wasn't able to come and was sad about it. But this is for all Cape Verdeans," added Vozinha, who plays for Portuguese second-tier team GD Chaves.
Lamine Yamal Returns but Cannot Break Deadlock
With 20 minutes left, Spain brought on teenage sensation Lamine Yamal for his first appearance since April 22 due to a hamstring injury, but even he could not get the Spaniards on the scoresheet. Spain's last great chance came in the 88th minute, when a cross found Oyarzabal open in the box. His first-time shot was deflected by a sliding Pico Lopes out for a corner kick. Cape Verde could have stolen a sensational win from a 90th-minute corner as Diney Borges rose unchallenged, but headed into Unai Simon's arms.
Spain Remains Calm
The only time Spain won the World Cup, in 2010, they lost the opening game to Switzerland, so they will not panic. "You fix things by sticking to the same plan, continuing to improve with more finesse," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. "They are a very organised team. 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."
Cape Verde Targets Knockout Rounds
For Cape Verde, the knockout rounds are now the target, while Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, who meet later on Monday (local time), know qualification will not be easy, even with three teams progressing from the majority of groups.
Pico Lopes: From LinkedIn to World Cup
Lopes himself is an incredible story, having originally been recruited to the national team through LinkedIn in 2019. The Irish-born central defender thought the message in Portuguese was spam and did not bother replying. It was only when he received a follow-up message in English that he realised it was an offer to play international football for Cape Verde. "I thought it was a spam message and I took no notice of it," Lopes told BBC. Speaking to Reuters, he added: "Nine months later they messaged me back in English asking if I had thought about the proposal, and it was only then that I did what I should have done originally and Google-translated the original message asking if I would be interested in declaring for Cape Verde. It was a weird angle to come at (via LinkedIn); it was explained to me afterwards that they had difficulty contacting my club, but when I saw the opportunity was there in front of me, I was 100 per cent behind it from minute one, and we got working on getting all the necessary documentation across."
