Cape Verde announced themselves on the World Cup stage with a stunning 0-0 draw against Spain, frustrating the European champions who dominated possession and had 27 goal attempts but could find no way past 40-year-old keeper Vozinha.
The African side built a blue-shirted barricade in front of Vozinha and dared Spain, who dominated almost everything in the Group H draw except the scoreline, to find a way through. Spain had almost 75 per cent possession, but Cape Verde’s first match at a World Cup became a heroic exercise in resistance, discipline and occasional survival.
At the final whistle, Vozinha was named player of the match and left the pitch in tears after a performance that turned him into the face of Cape Verde’s historic night.
For Spain, it had uncomfortable echoes of their 2022 World Cup round-of-16 exit to Morocco: endless passing, a defensive wall at the other end and a growing sense that all the possession in the world means little if the penalty area is locked shut and you cannot find the keys.
Cape Verde defended deep from the start in a five-man low block, often crowding their own box with almost the entire team. Spain moved the ball from side to side, probing for cracks, but the African debutants were organised, stubborn and impressively calm under pressure.
