Cape Verde Holds Reigning European Champions Spain to a Draw in World Cup 2026 Debut

Atlanta. Cape Verde, which has stepped into the World Cup for the first time in 2026, has stunned the world of football by holding the reigning European champions Spain to a goalless draw in their first match. In the match held in Atlanta on Monday night, Cape Verde displayed excellent defensive performance against the strong opponent Spain. 

With the strong support of their defenders throughout the game, Cape Verde's veteran goalkeeper Vozinha made some excellent saves, preventing Spain from scoring. Achieving a result that no one had imagined before the game, Cape Verde succeeded in adding a historic point. Here are some of the main and interesting facts from this memorable match:

• Vozinha's Splendid Debut at 40 Years Old

Goalkeeper Vozinha, who plays professional football for the second division Portuguese club Chaves, had celebrated his 40th birthday only on June 3rd. He has become the second oldest player in the history of the men's World Cup to debut. Previously, in the 2018 World Cup, Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary set the record for the oldest World Cup player by debuting at the age of 45 years and 161 days. 

Out of Spain's 27 shots on Cape Verde's goal throughout the game, Vozinha alone made 7 excellent saves. Since 1966, only Northern Ireland's Pat Jennings has made more saves in a single World Cup match at the age of 40 or older; he made 10 saves against Brazil on his 41st birthday in 1986. 

• Only One Foul in the Entire Match

The discipline of Cape Verde's players on the field is proven by the fact that they committed only one foul in the entire match. This is the lowest foul count by any team in a single World Cup match since 1966. Sydney Lopez Cabral committed that single foul in the first half, for which he had to receive a yellow card. 

• Oyarzabal Did Not Touch the Ball for 30 Minutes

Star striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored the winning goal for Spain against England in the Euro 2024 final, did not touch the ball even once in the first 30 minutes after coming onto the field against Cape Verde. According to football statistics provider Opta, this is the first time in World Cup history since 1966 that a major striker has not touched the ball for the first half hour of a match. 

• FIFA Ranking Difference Did Not Matter

There is a significant difference of 65 places between Spain and Cape Verde in the FIFA world rankings. This is the biggest difference in history where the higher-ranked team has not won in a match with such a large ranking gap in World Cup history. 

• 2,500 Passes but Zero Goals

Spain has not scored a goal in the World Cup since Alvaro Morata's header in the 11th minute of the final group stage match against Japan in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Since then, Spain has made 49 goal attempts in World Cup matches and has not been able to find the net despite playing a total of 2,500 passes. After that match against Japan in the Qatar World Cup, Spain was held to a 0-0 draw by Morocco in the Round of 16 and was later defeated in a penalty shootout. Now, they have also started the 2026 World Cup with a draw against Cape Verde. 

• Spain's History of Poor Starts Continues

Spain's old habit of a poor start in their opening World Cup match has been repeated this time as well. Spain has won only 3 of their last 15 World Cup participations in their opening match, drawing 5 and losing 7. However, one of those 7 losses was in 2010, where Spain went on to win the World Cup for the first time in history after losing their first match. 

However, Spain's performance in the World Cup has been declining in the years since. After being eliminated from the group stage in 2014, Spain returned home from the Round of 16 in 2018 and 2022. Since defeating the Netherlands in the 2010 final, Spain has played 12 World Cup matches but has only managed to win 3 of them.