Cape Verde put up a brave show in their FIFA World Cup match against the mighty Spain with a 0-0 draw on Monday. The African side announced themselves on the big stage by frustrating the European champions, who dominated possession and had 27 goal ​attempts but could find no way past 40-year-old keeper Vozinha.
Spain dominated with 75% possession in the Group H goalless draw but Cape Verde’s World Cup debut became an exhibition of great resistance.
When the final whistle blew, Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha was named Player of the Match, who left the pitch in tears after helping his country earn a historic result.
For Spain, the match brought back memories of their shock exit against Morocco in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup. They dominated possession and kept passing the ball around, but struggled to go past a packed defence of Cape Verde.
Cape Verde sat deep from the beginning, defending with five players at the back and often keeping almost their entire team near their own penalty area. Spain patiently moved the ball from one side to the other, looking for openings, but Cape Verde remained organised and calm under pressure.
Remarkably, despite spending most of the game defending, Cape Verde committed just one foul, the fewest by any team in a World Cup match since 1966.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente’s decision to leave young stars Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on the bench against supposedly weaker opponents reduced much of Spain’s attacking threat. Ferran Torres and Gavi, playing in wider roles, struggled to provide the speed and creativity that Spain usually relies on.
Spain started well. Marc Cucurella, who recently joined Real Madrid from Chelsea, fired an early shot just over the bar. Soon after, Mikel Oyarzabal failed to control a dangerous through ball inside the box.
Then Vozinha took over. The Cape Verde goalkeeper made a brilliant save to deny Pedri in the 36th minute. Three minutes later, Ferran Torres hit the crossbar and when Oyarzabal headed the rebound towards goal, Vozinha somehow stretched out one hand to keep it out.
Torres then missed another good opportunity just before halftime, shooting straight at the goalkeeper. Moments later, Vozinha produced another outstanding save, diving across goal to push Aymeric Laporte’s header around the post.
Spain continued to control the game after the break, but their finishing let them down. Oyarzabal mistimed a close-range header after a good run from Pedri, while Fabian Ruiz wasted two chances from outside the box.
De la Fuente finally introduced Yamal and Mikel Merino in the 70th minute, replacing Gavi and Fabian Ruiz. Yamal immediately made an impact. His pace and dribbling on the right wing forced Cape Verde defenders to pay special attention to him and created more space for Spain.
In the 88th minute, Yamal played a clever pass to Oyarzabal, but the forward’s shot was blocked at the last second.
Cape Verde even managed to win a late corner and nearly threatened Spain in the closing moments. Their only shot on target came in stoppage time, but by then they had already achieved their goal. In fact, they came close to creating an even bigger upset with a couple of late attacks.
