Heroic Cape Verde mark World Cup debut by stealing point off lacklustre Spain
Cape Verde held Spain to a draw on their World Cup debut as Vozinha resisted a late surge. The result exposed Spain's lack of firepower in attack without the presence of Lamine Yamal, who failed to get the win for his side.
A heroic performance from Cape Verde saw them mark their World Cup debut by holding Spain to a 0-0 draw. The reigning European champions were punished for their lacklustre performance upfront as Lamine Yamal's second-half arrival wasn't enough to inspire Spain to get over the line. Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha was the star of the show as he made seven crucial saves to keep Spain at bay thoughout the game.
SPAIN VS CAPE VERDE HIGHLIGHTS
Cape Verde remained disciplined in the game throughout the 90 minutes, conceding just one foul throughout the contest. Spain, on the other hand, were wasteful with possession and failed to create early chances to put the African side on the back foot.
SPAIN LOOK TOOTHLESS WITH YAMAL
Spain decided to start without Lamine Yamal, despite coach De la Fuente saying that he was 100 percent ready for the game. Spain had all the possession in the contest early on. But the passes seemed to be more sideways than anything as Cape Verde defended with almost 10 players inside their own half at times.
Mikel Oyarzabal found himself isolated for most of the time as Spain struggled with passes into the final third, allowing Cape Verde to recycle the ball out of danger. By the time the first hydration break happened, Spain, despite their 70 per cent possession and three shots, failed to get the breakthrough.
It was evident from Oyarzabal's unwanted record as he became the first player since 1966 to not get a touch of the ball in the first 30 minutes of the game. While Spain did turn on the heat in the final 15 minutes, they then hit a brick wall in the form of Vozinha.
He made a clincal save in the 37th minute, albeit from an offside move before coming in clutch a few moments later. Ferran Torres got a golden chance in the 39th minute, which hit the post but the Cape Verde goalkeeper was there to tip over an Oyarzabal header.
Vozinha came in clutch once more as he saved a shot from Torres and then a header from Laporte from a corner as Cape Verde went into halftime with the score all level.
Their fans started to keep the hope as Vozinha restarted the second half with more assurance and more saves. The 40-year-old looked assured in the air, catching all the lofted balls into the box as Spain's shots were all going wide.
There were no clear-cut chances till that point as Cape Verde's defence kept shutting the door on them firmly.
YAMAL FAIL TO INSPIRE SPAIN
De la Fuente had no other choice but to get Yamal on and in the second half cooling break, the wish of Spanish fans came true. There was an instant change in the mood inside the stadium as quickly changed in an instant.
There was an instant impact from the Barcelona man as he started to open things up through the right as he was able to get Marcos Llorente into the box. Merino got the shot away but Vozinha was able to save it.
The match already felt different as Yamal started to trick past the defenders, giving hope to the Spanish fans. But Cape Verde kept fighting hard and kept frustrating the 2010 World Cup winners.
The final 10 minutes were supposed to be the one that was going to be the big test for Cape Verde as Spain brought on Dani Olmo. Cucurella had a chance soon after but it was right at Vozinha and the Cape Verde fans started to believe.
The intensity of the attacks started to pick up, but the Cape Verde defenders looked completely focused about the job on hand. Yet, Spain came close in the 86th minute where Oyarzabal's volley was blocked by Roberto Lopes.
Spain had five minutes of stoppage time, but it was Cape Verde who had the biggest chance from their first corner of the game. Diney Borges felt that the newspapers were going to have his name tomorrow morning, but his header was easily grabbed by Unai Simon.
Cape Verde got another chance late on but Ryan Mendes hit it well wide. Spain still had a chance to grab the win as Oyarzabal flicked the ball and it went wide. As soon as the final whistle blew, Vozinha was in a flood of tears as all the players ran up to him.
The stadium soon erupted in celebration as Spain were left to rue their one-dimensional approach to the contest.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR SPAIN?
Spain need to start with a few fresh ideas in their next outing. Starting with Gavi and Ferran on the wings looked to be bad idea as both men struggled to dribble past their defenders on multiple occassions. This was evident when Yamal came on and he made five dribbles, the most by any player in the game.
They needed to be more direct with their attack instead of just keeping possession and making passes. They could take a leaf out of Germany and their win over Curacao as the four-time champions were constantly using the wings to cut open the defence.
Spain will face Saudi Arabia next on Sunday, June 21 while Cape Verde go up against Uruguay on the same day.
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A heroic performance from Cape Verde saw them mark their World Cup debut by holding Spain to a 0-0 draw. The reigning European champions were punished for their lacklustre performance upfront as Lamine Yamal's second-half arrival wasn't enough to inspire Spain to get over the line. Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha was the star of the show as he made seven crucial saves to keep Spain at bay thoughout the game.
SPAIN VS CAPE VERDE HIGHLIGHTS
Cape Verde remained disciplined in the game throughout the 90 minutes, conceding just one foul throughout the contest. Spain, on the other hand, were wasteful with possession and failed to create early chances to put the African side on the back foot.
SPAIN LOOK TOOTHLESS WITH YAMAL
Spain decided to start without Lamine Yamal, despite coach De la Fuente saying that he was 100 percent ready for the game. Spain had all the possession in the contest early on. But the passes seemed to be more sideways than anything as Cape Verde defended with almost 10 players inside their own half at times.
Mikel Oyarzabal found himself isolated for most of the time as Spain struggled with passes into the final third, allowing Cape Verde to recycle the ball out of danger. By the time the first hydration break happened, Spain, despite their 70 per cent possession and three shots, failed to get the breakthrough.
It was evident from Oyarzabal's unwanted record as he became the first player since 1966 to not get a touch of the ball in the first 30 minutes of the game. While Spain did turn on the heat in the final 15 minutes, they then hit a brick wall in the form of Vozinha.
He made a clincal save in the 37th minute, albeit from an offside move before coming in clutch a few moments later. Ferran Torres got a golden chance in the 39th minute, which hit the post but the Cape Verde goalkeeper was there to tip over an Oyarzabal header.
Vozinha came in clutch once more as he saved a shot from Torres and then a header from Laporte from a corner as Cape Verde went into halftime with the score all level.
Their fans started to keep the hope as Vozinha restarted the second half with more assurance and more saves. The 40-year-old looked assured in the air, catching all the lofted balls into the box as Spain's shots were all going wide.
There were no clear-cut chances till that point as Cape Verde's defence kept shutting the door on them firmly.
YAMAL FAIL TO INSPIRE SPAIN
De la Fuente had no other choice but to get Yamal on and in the second half cooling break, the wish of Spanish fans came true. There was an instant change in the mood inside the stadium as quickly changed in an instant.
There was an instant impact from the Barcelona man as he started to open things up through the right as he was able to get Marcos Llorente into the box. Merino got the shot away but Vozinha was able to save it.
The match already felt different as Yamal started to trick past the defenders, giving hope to the Spanish fans. But Cape Verde kept fighting hard and kept frustrating the 2010 World Cup winners.
The final 10 minutes were supposed to be the one that was going to be the big test for Cape Verde as Spain brought on Dani Olmo. Cucurella had a chance soon after but it was right at Vozinha and the Cape Verde fans started to believe.
The intensity of the attacks started to pick up, but the Cape Verde defenders looked completely focused about the job on hand. Yet, Spain came close in the 86th minute where Oyarzabal's volley was blocked by Roberto Lopes.
Spain had five minutes of stoppage time, but it was Cape Verde who had the biggest chance from their first corner of the game. Diney Borges felt that the newspapers were going to have his name tomorrow morning, but his header was easily grabbed by Unai Simon.
Cape Verde got another chance late on but Ryan Mendes hit it well wide. Spain still had a chance to grab the win as Oyarzabal flicked the ball and it went wide. As soon as the final whistle blew, Vozinha was in a flood of tears as all the players ran up to him.
The stadium soon erupted in celebration as Spain were left to rue their one-dimensional approach to the contest.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR SPAIN?
Spain need to start with a few fresh ideas in their next outing. Starting with Gavi and Ferran on the wings looked to be bad idea as both men struggled to dribble past their defenders on multiple occassions. This was evident when Yamal came on and he made five dribbles, the most by any player in the game.
They needed to be more direct with their attack instead of just keeping possession and making passes. They could take a leaf out of Germany and their win over Curacao as the four-time champions were constantly using the wings to cut open the defence.
Spain will face Saudi Arabia next on Sunday, June 21 while Cape Verde go up against Uruguay on the same day.
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