The mighty Spanish side were unable to get past Cape Verde in their World Cup opener as the West African side put up a defensive masterclass to shut the door for the Spaniards. The hero of the match was arguably the 40-year-old veteran Vozinha, who made several stops to keep out the European Champions.
Before this match, it was expected that Cape Verde would sit back and defend. With Spain’s immense creativity, you would expect the likes of Pedri, Rodri, and Ruiz to find a gap between the defensive lines. Spain could have played better, but the standout of the match will be how Cape Verde were able to keep the door shut and pick up a historic result in Atlanta.
This conversation would not do justice to Cape Verde if only Spain’s wrongdoings were the only discussed. Cape Verde, the World Cup debutants who were written off by everyone, were able to pick up a result against a European powerhouse like Spain.
Cape Verde were very organized at the back, and their players had strong positional understanding and awareness when facing pressure. Not only did they mark their men tightly, but they were also able to create overloads around the Spanish attack whenever they threatened to get into dangerous areas.
A lot of credit will go to Vozinha, who did his part in keeping out Spain on multiple occasions to preserve the 0-0 scoreline. Despite Cape Verde not being the favorites to qualify for the knockout stages, if they keep up this level of performance for the rest of the group stage, they surely will not be an enjoyable side to play against.
Luis de la Fuente may be questioning his decision not to start Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, who were both deemed match fit to make the squad today. The 64-year-old Spanish manager opted to take the safe road by keeping out his star player, Lamine Yamal, which unfortunately may have cost him the three points in their World Cup opener. Spain’s quick combination play and ability to play around tight areas usually get the better of any defense, but that proved not to be the case today.
We have seen this story all too often, where a side gets a negative result in the opening game but still goes on to make a deep World Cup run. Spain will need to improve their play to finish top of Group H, the ultimate goal of any big nation in the tournament.
