New Delhi: As a 17-year-old, the king of football had to wait two games before being unleashed at the 1958 World Cup due to a knee injury. Lamine Yamal, 18, Spain’s footballing prince, started on the shaded second row of the bench, protected due to a hamstring tear he has just recovered from. After all, the European champions and strong contenders were only up against debutants Cape Verde in the Group H opener at the Atlanta Stadium on Monday.
Maybe Yamal’s trickery down the right from the start would have made a difference, but Spain were handed a humbling first half experience by Cape Verde, the smallest nation by area at the World Cup. The Atlantic archipelago is likely more used to turbulent ocean weather than the kind Spain unleashes on its opponents, but they put on a brave, unwavering show till the end, forcing La Roja into an embarrassing draw.
Spain are notorious starters – shock 0-1 loss in the first game to Switzerland in 2010, 1-5 defeat to Netherlands in 2014, a thrilling 3-3 draw with Portugal in 2018 – and could not avoid the draw against a defensively unperturbed Cape Verde. This was despite throwing on Yamal in the 70th minute to get their fans to finally cheer.
Yamal did add pep to the attack, creating two fine chances late in the match. His defence-splitting pass to Olmo was relayed to Mikel Oyarzabal, but the forward shackled by the Cape Verde defence could only lash a shot wide and over.
First half shock
World Cups have the nasty habit of rattling the giants first up, but even the experts could not have predicted a struggle against the surprise qualifiers from Africa, ahead of Cameroon. It soon became evident that the well-drilled defence, marshalled from the back by Pico Lopes, who plays for Shamrock Rovers in the Irish League.
A compact four-man backline dealt with Ferran Torres, who moved to the right to take up Yamal’s usual spot while right fullback Marcos Llorente moved up. Neither impressed, and Oyarzabal was almost anonymous. The low block and a tight defensive midfield that left no gap for Spain’s mesmerising passing range saw the Cape Verde players rapidly gain confidence. Skipper Rodri linked up with Marc Cucurella on the left in a bid to break the defensive structure, but head coach Bubista’s tactics were carried out to perfection.
The hero through that first half was Vozinha. The 40-year-old goalkeeper who plays for Chaves in Portugal’s second division – Cape Verde was a Portugal colony and Portuguese is its official language – made stunning saves. Pedri’s early attempt was easily collected and Torres’ effort then was too feeble.
A rare mis-pass taken up by Rodri set up Cucurella and his cross finally gave Oyarzabal an opening. However, Sidny Lopez Cabral, rock on the Cape Verde leftwing, blunted the danger. Vozinha’s finest effort was an Oyarzabal header brilliantly tipped over, after a Torres header from six yards out came off the horizontal.
Cape Verde’s rare attacks focused on Livramento, the one man upfront, but a lack of ideas, and two wayward attempts by Cabral, kept Unai Simon untroubled. Their best chance came in the dying minutes, but Diney Borges directed his free header from a right-wing corner straight to Simon.
As the first-half break was ending, a grim-looking Yamal walked back out of the tunnel, with no sign of his being introduced. The neutral fans, and Cape Verde supporters in blue, swayed in the stands singing as Spain continued to toil, until after the first substitutions were made after the hour mark. Spain pushed harder, and created more concerted chances after Yamal arrived, but Cape Verde’s man marking and defensive organisation, which harked back to Italy of the 1990s, was brilliant.
The history of World Cups is replete with giants being caught by surprise – Argentina lost their opener to Saudi Arabia in 2022 – and Spain, when they look back will be relieved Cape Verde didn’t do the unthinkable and get a late winner.
Uruguay and Saudi Arabia are the other teams in Group H.
