Cabo Verde Makes World Cup History With Scoreless Draw Against Spain

It may never get better than their first day at the World Cup for Cabo Verde, who marked their first game at the tournament by holding European champions Spain to a stunning 0-0 draw in Atlanta.

Even with the injured Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams confined to the bench Spain were overwhelming favorites to win and win well against the African debutants, representing a nation of less than 500,000 citizens, the smallest team by land area ever to play at this tournament. Though they were inevitably pinned back by their more illustrious opponents, Cabo Verde were not flattered by the result.

Goalkeeper Vozinha had seven saves to make, a great deal in most games, but only a handful of them really tested the man from Chaves, who play in the second tier of Portuguese football. His opponents included a Ballon d'Or winner, a full back who has just made a $70 million move to Real Madrid and a frontline that included two representatives from Barcelona.

That illustrious XI certainly dominated possession and territory and the final reading of this is that it is a game where Spain made enough chances to win. Ferran Torres hit the crossbar in the first half and also saw a shot blocked the excellent Diny Borges. Midfielder Fabian Ruiz went close in the second before Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was forced to call for the cavalry, Yamal introduced midway through the second half. He teed up fellow substitute Mikel Merino, who fired too close to Vozinha.

Ultimately though, a team of Spain's quality could and should have done more. It took half an hour for the Euro 2024 winners to even manufacture a touch for starting center forward Mikel Oyarzabal as their typically patient possession play veered far too close to trundling and awkward. The arrival of Yamal and then Williams brought the threat down the flank that Ferran Torres and Gavi did not, but it was too late to puncture a rearguard that had grown in confidence.

The Cabo Verde defense had started out well enough anyway. Though they were clearly the team on the back foot they bent without breaking. Spain ended this game with 534 touches in the attacking third and 74% possession, but by those numbers, 30 possession sequences that ended in the penalty area is nothing remarkable. So too 2.29 expected goals. In most World Cup games that would be rather impressive. When there are 61 places between these two in the FIFA World Rankings and an almighty imbalance in tournament experience, these numbers speak more highly of Cabo Verde than Spain. So too the fact that this team made only one foul in the entire game.

The Cabo Verde government had declared a national holiday to celebrate their side's debut at the tournament. Perhaps commemorating this outstanding defensive display should become an annual feat. This result will certainly be one for the history books, ranking alongside the USA's win over England in 1950, North Korea stunning Italy in 1966 and Cameroon beating Argentina in 1990 as one of the greatest shocks in World Cup history.

Cabo Verde have given themselves a tough act to follow.

Pressure builds on Spain

So too have the European champions. They will probably still ease out of the group, a win against Saudi Arabia would almost certainly be enough, and they will remain among the favorites for as long as they are in the tournament. If any team knows that a high possession but low cut through opener is not necessarily predictive of the road ahead then it is Spain, who lost their opener to Switzerland on their way to winning the World Cup in 2010. There is, however, a distinct possibility that they will discover they have manufactured a far more difficult path for themselves. If Uruguay were to win their first two games and draw against Spain then La Furia Roja could well be on a collision course with Argentina in the round of 32.

Perhaps by then Yamal will be good to go from the off. On the evidence of today Spain might need him to be. Without the Barcelona man and Williams on the flanks the special sauce of their Euro 2024 win was nowhere to be found. Cabo Verde could set up in a low defensive block and dare the Spanish to win their one-on-one duels. Neither Gavi nor Ferran Torres seemed inclined to even try.

Instead, Spain found themselves delivering a performance of their familiar luxury issues. They kept the ball, retained control but desperately lacked cutting edge. With Mikel Oyarzabal where an orthodox, duel-winning center forward should perhaps be, there really was nothing to discomfort Borges and Pico Lopes, the Irish-born star of Shamrock Rovers, a team that doesn't usually provide the sort of defenders who repel Barcelona players.

De La Fuente had indicated before today's game that he wanted to hold Yamal in reserve as he steps up his recovery from a hamstring injury, and yet amid the exasperation of the hydration break in the second half, he felt he had no choice but to chuck the game at his 18-year-old superstar. Yamal did look more likely to change the game than most. His presence drew three Cabo Verde defenders out to their left flank. His first action saw him find a way through, but fellow substitute Merino delivered a rusty finish.

If Yamal and Williams, another who has battled injuries this season, had been fit enough to start, this almost certainly would have been a win from Spain. Their ability to beat a man drags defenses out of position in a way few others on any roster can. The issue is that they aren't fit enough to start this one, as De La Fuente himself acknowledged, and perhaps they will not be fit enough to play the full 90 against Saudi Arabia. It is rarely a good thing for a tournament campaign if you're having to dice with the fitness of your star players from the off. Spain, however, might not have a choice.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/cabo-verde-world-cup-upset-draw-spain/)._