Cape Verde STUN sluggish Spain to pull off one of the World Cup’s greatest ever shocks with heroic draw – as Lamine Yamal’s understudy fails crucial test, writes OLIVER SALT

The beauty of sports is that it can occasionally produce results that challenge belief. A conclusion so illogical, so incomprehensible, that it makes you rub your eyes to confirm that you are not wrong.

The tiny West African nation of Cape Verde, with a population of just over half a million, took to the big stage at the World Cup for the first time thanks to FIFA’s new 48-team format.

Few gave them hope of emerging from this daunting opener against Spain, the reigning European champions and one of the favorites to lift the trophy in New Jersey next month, with even their dignity in check. This was about as brutal a mismatch as expansion could throw up, wasn’t it?

In this true David-Goliath battle, the brave and courageous underdogs had other ideas.

Against all odds, Cape Verde stunned Luis de la Fuente’s La Roja powerhouse by shutting them out to secure the unlikeliest of stalemates in Atlanta, marking the biggest upset of the 2026 World Cup so far.

With superstar attackers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams deemed insufficient to start, De la Fuente was forced to play up second-line options on Ferran Torres and Gavi, but the rest of the starting lineup suffered no further declines.

The tiny West African nation put on a spectacular defensive display at Atlanta Stadium

Make no mistake, this was an almost full-strength Spanish team full of world-class operators such as Rodri, Pedri and new Real Madrid signing Marc Cucurella, and they fell well short against one of the competition’s top teams, ranked 67th in the world by FIFA.

There was no improvement in Spain’s play from the first whistle, no real urgency to breach Cape Verde’s superb 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha; Vozinha, who still had to put on a show for the ages to keep them at bay.

De La Fuente’s men can’t even blame the 80-degree Atlanta heat for this alarmingly slow start, considering it’s coming from inside the closed-roof, climate-controlled Atlanta Stadium. They were off the pace and unusually sloppy both in possession and in front of goal; They looked like a team just waiting to get ahead and win at a canter. Even Yamal’s introduction wasn’t enough to bring them back to life in the last 20 minutes.

“We lacked movement and freshness, but when the ball doesn’t go in, it won’t go in,” De la Fuente said. ‘We had shots on goal, positions and the desire to end the match with a quick goal. ‘We know it’s very difficult and we know it’s incredibly difficult to win here.’

Although the overwhelming favorites are sleepwalking into disaster, the story of the afternoon, and the fairy tale of the World Cup so far, belongs to the tenacious and defensively magnificent Cape Verde.

Here they fought for their lives and even gave Spain a few frights in the last minutes; This raised the stakes as hordes of bemused fans dreamed of going one step further and creating the upset of the century.

It was a joy to watch the likes of Diney, Sidny Lopes Cabral, Roberto Lopes and Jamiro Monteiro fight tooth and nail to defend their holy grail, but it was veteran goalkeeper Vozinha who stole the show on a wild day in Georgia.

Spanish student studies failure test

Fitness issues for Yamal and Williams gave Torres and Gavi the opportunity to impress in Spain’s front line today; The duo took part in the attack alongside Real Sociedad’s frontman Mikel Oyarzabal.

Ferran Torres had a torrid afternoon after replacing Lamine Yamal on the right wing

Yamal was not healthy enough to deal a blow to Spanish fans who paid big money for tickets

Gavi, who started at left in the absence of Nico Williams, was largely anonymous on the day.

It was a seismic blow for traveling Spanish fans who parted with eye-watering sums to watch Barcelona’s sensation perform his magic in Atlanta. His name was on the back of nearly every red-orange jersey in and around the stadium.

And in the absence of their two-star wideout, the underlings proved themselves worthy of such a title after failing to pose a real threat in the final third.

Torres endured a particularly stormy afternoon, giving the ball away frequently in the first 45 minutes and somehow striking the goal shortly before half-time.

Gavi, meanwhile, was largely anonymous on the left wing.

If De la Fuente evaluates how dependent he is on Yamal and Williams today, the answer is abundantly clear. He can’t afford to leave them out of the starting XI again, even for another game against Saudi Arabia on Sunday, which they are expected to win.

Are you sure Louis?

At the pre-match press conference, De la Fuentes stated that Yamal was in “excellent” condition despite fears that he still had not returned to full fitness in time for this opener.

He accepted that Barcelona’s sensational player might not make it through the full 90 minutes, but why did it take until the 71st minute to introduce him here?

Luis de la Fuente says Yamal’s situation is ‘excellent’ but it is too late to hire him

Even his promotion with 20 minutes left was not enough to revive Spain here.

Spain were crying out much earlier in the game for an injection of talent and quality in the final third as the likes of Torres, Gavi and Oyarzabal – the first World Cup player since 1966 to not take a single touch in the first 30 minutes of the match – were trying to break through Cape Verde’s massive wall.

Either he was keeping faith in his second-string players to get the job done, or Luis might be telling a little white lie about Yamal’s ‘perfect’ fitness.

“We tried to be patient so as not to close any doors,” De la Fuentes said after the match when asked why it took so long to bring in reinforcements.

‘The aim is to gradually integrate them into the team and give them playing time.’

Age is just a number

Who would have thought that Cape Verde’s goalkeeper would be the best player on the pitch?

He may have celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this month but Vozinha has produced heroics that belie his years to thwart one of the World Cup favorites and pull off the upset of the tournament so far.

The highlight of his remarkable display came towards the end of the first half, when he made a breathtakingly acrobatic save from close range to tip Oyarzabal’s header over the bar.

Just a few minutes later he had to make another dramatic stop to prevent another header from Rodri.

Spain had no better chances in the second half; This was mainly due to the defensive excellence of Lopes (better known as Pico) and substitute Joao Paulo, who made a vital intervention with 10 minutes left in the match.

However, Vozinha, who kept a clean sheet with two outstanding saves in the first half and a total of eight shots on target from Spain, took home the man of the match award as a well-deserved reward for his masterful work.

Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was undoubtedly the star of the show in Atlanta

Cape Verde put in a defensive effort for the ages to keep the European champions out

48 teams isn’t such a bad idea

A word for winners, a fair description for Cape Verde, even though they didn’t technically claim the three points.

There has been a lot of criticism and anger over FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams and invite some of the smallest football nations in the world to the party. Opponents said it would diminish the quality of the sport’s most prestigious competition and render the group stage futile.

Cape Verde’s inspired defensive effort and miraculous stalemate against the European champions suggest otherwise.

While they never looked like a Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas-like shocker on the opposing side, the debutants were so well-trained and determined in front of their respective boxes that it didn’t matter. Spain huffed and puffed, but they couldn’t blow up their house in Atlanta.

Parking the bus in this sport is often a stick for beating teams, but the most unreasonable skeptics would deny that Cape Verde’s defensive masterclass is nothing to celebrate.

Maybe 48 teams isn’t such a bad idea after all.