The essence of football is anyone stands a chance against anyone. With all the financial muscle in the game, that essence becomes harder and harder to see. And yet, there are days like this at the World Cup that defy everything.
Spain vs Cape Verde. Tournament favourites vs tournament debutants. A nation who has won four European Championships and one World Cup against a team who lost to Mauritania in qualifying.
Yet a 50 million major football nation could not beat a collection of islands comprising 500,000 people. This was not just a huge shock, it was one of the biggest mismatches in football history.
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Cape Verde fans celebrate draw against Spain on World Cup debut from around the world in Atlanta, Praia and Rotterdam!
And as soon as the game kicked off, you could see that mismatch in terms of football quality.
Goalkeeper Vozinha will grab the headlines for his clean sheet, the seven saves he made at the age of 40 and his tears of joy at full-time – but he also had the second-most touches out of any Cape Verde player on the pitch. His outfield team-mates just were not able to keep hold of the ball.
All the stats pointed to Spain, but Cape Verde held them to a draw
Spain completed nearly 400 passes in the final third of the pitch, while Cape Verde could only manage 16 at the other end. Their 74 per cent possession and 27 shots created an Expected Goals (xG) tally of 2.7 – on most days Spain win that match 3-0.
But stories like Vozinha make the impossible, possible. And the Cape Verde goalkeeper was not alone in his heroic display.
His two centre-backs were outstanding and also had the game of their lives. Diney Borges won more duels and made more tackles than any other player in white and blue.
His performance was only bettered by his centre-back partner – Dublin-born Pico Lopes – who made 11 clearances and made a goal-saving block to deny Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal late on.
Cape Verde’s Pico Lopes was outstanding at the back
And despite Spain’s domination, Cape Verde only made one foul in the entire game – the fewest in a match from any World Cup team on record since 1966. They went about it diligently. No time-wasting, no cheap tricks, no ‘housery’. Just heart.
That is no surprise, given the journeys these players have gone through to reach this moment. Three years ago, defender Sidny Cabral – who played most of the game on a yellow card – was in the fifth tier of Germany. Forward Garry Rodrigues is a former postman.
Captain Ryan Mendes thought his big break was coming when Leicester came to scout him when he was playing at French second tier side Le Havre. The move did not happen, and the Premier League side signed one of his team-mates instead. His name was Riyad Mahrez.
“This means everything for our country,” said Cape Verde coach Pedro Brito. “This is proof of what our country is about – resilience and to try to overcome hardships.
But results like this draw against Spain can change lives. It is no better seen in goalkeeper Vozinha, who admitted after the game that he could not afford to pay for his mother’s visa to attend the World Cup.
But he started Monday with 50,000 followers on Instagram. An hour after kick-off and that number sat at 1.5 million. Those 90 minutes, those seven saves could significantly alter the life of a player who is surely contemplating retirement at the end of this summer, with his contract at second division Portuguese club Chaves expiring on June 30.
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who turned 40 last week , made seven saves – including four stunning stops
Commercial opportunities in the nation may be right around the corner. Documentaries may be made. He will never buy a drink in Cape Verde ever again, that’s for sure.
How did Spain fail to win?
But while this is Cape Verde’s story – the question must be asked about how Spain could not get through. For them, this was a failure – potentially even an all-time low.
From minute one, the pattern of play just was not there for the European champions. The ball speed was far too slow.
Striker Mikel Oyarzabal, branded the key in Spain’s attack with Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams struggling with injury, took 31 minutes to have a touch of the ball. Spain only managed one shot on target right up until the 38th minute.
Substitute Yamal made a difference, creating more space for others from the moment he came off the bench. But by that point Spain were on the brink of desperation.
Spain need Lamine Yamal fully fit once again
There was not enough rotation in the wide areas before Spain’s teenage star came on. Without Yamal and Nico Williams, Spain did not look like a team that is equipped to be dangerous out wide.
During Euro 2024, this Spain team was all about calm heads and flair moments. This was the opposite.
Spain know there is room for so much improvement. They know that improvement will come once Yamal and Williams can start matches again.
They can also point to recent history where results like these have been the perfect kick up the backside towards success.
The last World Cup saw many people write Argentina off as they lost their opener to Saudi Arabia. Spain’s only World Cup triumph in 2010 saw arguably the best ever combination of Barcelona and Real Madrid players beaten by Switzerland in game one.
Despite the national embarrassment, Spain’s World Cup bid is far from over. That is another example of the beauty of football.
