Spain crashes against Cape Verde in their World Cup debut

Spain, with four Blaugrana players in the starting eleven –Cubarsí, Pedri, Gavi and Ferran–, was unable to break the deadlock (0-0) against Cape Verde, a country with just over half a million inhabitants. Vozinha was the hero for his team against a Spanish side that, even with the introduction of Lamine Yamal twenty minutes from the end, could not change the outcome of the match.

Giant happiness for Cape Verde, a team that took practically two minutes of play to string together two consecutive passes. This was the presentation card of a team that made history in its first World Cup participation. It was a very weak match from Spain, lacking depth, ideas, and bite.

Spain's first chance came in the eleventh minute. After a good break, falling towards the right flank, Pedri served a cross to the far post that Oyarzabal was close to catching and heading in. Shortly after, the Blaugrana catalyst himself would try his luck, with a soft shot from the edge of the box that was easy for Vozinha.

It wasn't until well past the 20th minute that the African selection had even approached Unai Simón's penalty area. Cucurella, a protagonist in the media for his signing by Real Madrid, would be the next to go for goal. The full-back from Alella, after a pass from Pedri, connected a volley from the left vertex of the area that went over the crossbar.

The reality was, however, that after half an hour of play, the all-powerful Spain, one of the great favorites, had been unable to generate clear chances against one of the smallest countries to ever participate in a World Cup.

Cape Verde did not intimidate – Livramento tried a long shot from midfield with no luck and Jovane Cabral also attempted a powerful shot that went directly wide – but they had also not suffered excessively until the final stretch of the first half.

Vozinha, the hero

It was then that De la Fuente's team put the pedal to the metal a bit. In the 36th minute, Pedri made Vozinha shine with a sharp shot after collecting a rebound on the edge of the box. However, the play would not have had any further development because the action was eventually disallowed for offside.

Ferran would have the clearest chance. A good pass from Rodri, who would end up having a dismal game, to Cucurella and the brand-new white signing passes to the Valencian player. Despite having a clear shot at point-blank range, Ferran sends it to the crossbar and, on the rebound, Vozinha flies to deny Oyarzabal a goal.

Cucurella would appear again to serve up another goal-scoring pass. A low ball into the heart of the area, which Gavi wisely lets go, and Ferran, with his left foot, shoots weakly into the goalkeeper's hands. Despite everything, and after a rather boring half hour, Spain generated all the clear chances they hadn't found until then, but still without the reward of a goal.

The 40-year-old Cape Verdean goalkeeper would still have time to shine again with a great save from a header by Laporte, after a corner served by Pedri. Vozinha, who last season played for Chaves in the Portuguese Second Division, would end up being the great hero of the match.

Spain needs to resort to Lamine Yamal

Although improving in the final stretch of the first half, Spain lacked the width that Lamine Yamal and Nico usually provide, both substitutes as they have just recovered from their respective injuries. With Gavi playing as a false winger on the left, Cucurella was the deepest. On the right, neither Ferran nor Marcos Llorente managed to provide depth either.

With no changes at halftime, Spain continued to intensify their siege. It seemed a matter of minutes before the Spanish team would break the deadlock, but past the hour mark, it was still a historic 0-0 for the African team. De la Fuente got tired of it and brought Lamine and Merino into the fray with twenty minutes to go.

The Basque midfielder, from a pass by Llorente, was the first to try his luck, with a soft shot into Vozinha's hands. With Lamine, the Spanish team gained intimidation. However, this did not translate into clear chances. De la Fuente brought Olmo and Nico onto the pitch, seeing that time was running out and the score was not changing.

In desperation, Oyarzabal came close to scoring, but Pico Lopes, providentially, deflected his shot. Even from a corner, Borges hit Unai Simón for the first time in the entire match. Spain fell apart in the final minutes. Disorganized and without ideas, they crashed against Cape Verde.