The World Cup has its first sensation: superstar Lamine Yamal and European champions Spain have had a disastrous start to their title campaign.
Spain’s superstar Lamine Yamal took a deep breath and stared blankly into space. On the other side, Cape Verde’s new football heroes fell into their goalkeeper Vozinha’s arms in joy – and the keeper burst into tears. The World Cup has its first sensation: the European champions have made a humiliating start to their title mission with a 0-0 draw against the small island nation from Africa in Atlanta on Monday.
While the ‘Blue Sharks’ celebrated their historic first point at a final tournament on their debut, the Spanish must significantly improve for their second World Cup triumph after 2010. «We kept trying to score a goal. Somehow, these are the games where it just doesn’t happen. You try, but the goal just won’t fall,» said Spain’s national coach Luis de la Fuente. He added that Yamal still needs «more practice after his injury break.»
As uninspired as the Spanish, whom national coach Luis de la Fuente kept the recently injured Yamal on the bench for 71 minutes, appeared for large stretches, it could be difficult in their second group match on Sunday against Saudi Arabia. The last opponent in Group H is Uruguay.
For Cape Verde, the third-smallest World Cup participant with 500,000 inhabitants, gaining a point in the duel between the 3rd and 64th ranked teams is already the greatest success in their football history.
Superstars Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams Only on the Bench
Before the tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, the Spanish were considered perhaps the biggest contenders for the Gold Cup alongside France. However, they must first overcome their recent World Cup trauma. Since their triumph in South Africa 16 years ago, Spain has not reached the quarterfinals. In 2014, the defending champions were sensationally eliminated in the group stage, and in 2018 (against Russia) and 2022 (against Morocco), their journey ended in the round of 16.
Before the match, de la Fuente had warned against underestimating the underdog, while Cape Verde’s national coach appeared aggressive. «We want to play without fear. We didn’t come here just to participate, we came here to compete,» said Pedro Leitao Brito. And indeed, the Spanish struggled.
Although they controlled possession from the start, in the absence of star players Yamal and Nico Williams, whom de la Fuente initially benched after their injuries, creativity and pace were lacking. Consequently, Cape Verde had little trouble defending against the Spanish efforts. The attacking trio of Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal, and Gavi were almost completely neutralized in the first half-hour.
Yamal and Williams Come On Late, But Remain Ineffective
It was clear that Spain missed Yamal’s genius, who was not yet fit for 90 minutes after his thigh injury sustained in April. His replacements only picked up the pace shortly before halftime. After a pass from Rodri, Marc Cucurella headed to Torres (39th), who only hit the crossbar. Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Vozinha then tipped Oyarzabal’s subsequent header over. Immediately before the break, the 40-year-old keeper made another strong save against Torres (45th) and Aymeric Laporte (45.+3).
After halftime, a similar picture emerged as in the first half. Spain had a visual advantage, but the Africans continued to fight hard without making significant offensive contributions themselves.
Vozinha remained strong and was in position against Fabián Ruiz (56th). In the 71st minute, de la Fuente had seen enough and brought Yamal on for Gavi, followed shortly by Williams. However, even with the ball artists on the field, they couldn’t find the winning goal.