Aymeric Laporte (L) of Spain in faces Dailon Livramento of Cape Verde during a group stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday in Atlanta. Photo by Ronald Wittek/EPA
Coach Luis de la Fuente said Spain “lacked freshness” in a stunning scoreless draw with heavy underdog Cape Verde on Monday in the 2026 World Cup.
The Spaniards dominated possession 74% to 26% and held advantages of 7-1 in shots on goal and 734-205 in accurate passes in the Group H stunner at Atlanta Stadium.
“We lacked freshness, a bit of finesse,” de la Fuente told reporters. “I think the first game also took its toll on us a bit.”
Cape Verde goalie Vozinha, 40, was impenetrable, with a deluge of stops. Barcelona winger Ferran Torres nearly gave the Spaniards a lead on two occasions. He hit the cross bar in the 39th minute and had a shot saved by Vozinha in the 45th.
Vozinha also got gloves on shots by forward Mikel Oyarzabal and defenseman Aymeric Laporte in the first half. Midfielders Fabian Ruiz, Marc Cucurella and defender Marcos Llorente were among the Spaniards with close second-half chances.
De la Fuente brought on phenom Lamine Yamal in the 71st minute, but the Barcelona forward also failed to break through for the European champions.
Cape Verde nearly stole an upset win, but Spain goalie Unai Simon denied center back Diney Borges in stoppage time.
“We knew the difficulty,” de la Fuente said of Cape Verde. “We had already made that assessment before the match about the difficulty this encounter was going to be with a team that was very deep in a very low block and also with a very important physical condition that was going to cause problems.
“Even so, we created enough scoring opportunities.”
Vozinha totaled seven saves to secure the draw. Oyarzabal and midfielder Fabian Ruiz attempted five shots apiece, with two on target. Yamal logged two shots in the loss.
“He is a big legend,” Cape Verde defender Steven Moreira said of Vozinha. “I’m very proud for him for what he did. … Very proud. He’s 40 years old. He’s a baller.”
Cape Verde, the No. 64 team in the FIFA world rankings, was a 2.5-goal underdog against the No. 3 Spaniards. With the draw, Spain and Cape Verde each secured a point and are momentarily tied atop Group H.
The Spaniards will battle No. 60 Saudi Arabia in another Group H game at noon EDT Sunday in Atlanta. Cape Verde will meet No. 17 Uruguay in their second group stage game Sunday at Miami Stadium.
The winner of Group H will meet the second-place team from Group J in the Round of 32. The second-place team from Group H will take on the winner of Group J in the Round of 32.
Group J features top-ranked Argentina, No. 24 Austria, 27 Algeria and No. 65 Jordan.
No. 29 Egypt and No. 10 Belgium also kicked off Group G play Monday in Seattle. The Egyptians took a 1-0 lead off a goal from midfielder Emam Ashour in the 20th minute. Belgium secured an equalizer when right back Mohamed Hany kicked the ball into the Egypt net for an own goal in the 66th minute.
Egypt will battle No. 85 New Zealand in another Group G match Sunday in Vancouver. Belgium will face No. 20 Iran on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif.
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Cristiano Ronaldo – PortugalCristiano Ronaldo of Portugal looks on during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on December 06, 2022. Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI | License Photo
