ATLANTA, June 15 (Reuters) - Cape Verde announced themselves on the World Cup stage with a stunning 0-0 draw against Spain on Monday, frustrating the European champions who dominated possession and had 27 goal attempts but could find no way past 40-year-old keeper Vozinha.
The African side built a blue-shirted barricade in front of Vozinha and dared Spain, who dominated almost everything in the Group H draw except the scoreline, to find a way through.
Spain had almost 75% possession, but Cape Verde's first match at a World Cup became a heroic exercise in resistance, discipline and occasional survival.
At the final whistle, Vozinha was named player of the match and left the pitch in tears after a performance that turned him into the face of Cape Verde's historic night.
For Spain, it had uncomfortable echoes of their 2022 World Cup round-of-16 exit to Morocco: endless passing, a defensive wall at the other end and a growing sense that all the possession in the world means little if the penalty area is locked shut and you cannot find the keys.
Cape Verde defended deep from the start in a five-man low block, often crowding their own box with almost the entire team. Spain moved the ball from side to side, probing for cracks, but the African debutants were organised, stubborn and impressively calm under pressure.
Despite having their backs against the wall, they conceded just one foul - the fewest by any team in a FIFA World Cup match on record since 1966.
Luis de la Fuente's decision to start with Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on the bench against theoretically easier opponents removed much of Spain's usual thrust. Ferran Torres and Gavi, used wide, struggled to provide the pace and one-on-one menace that have made Spain so dangerous in recent years.
"It just wasn't to be; there's little to criticise. We knew it would be a game of patience; they sat deep, we created chances, but we couldn't score," Spain captain Rodri said.
"It's difficult against such a physical, defensive side. The positive is that they barely created anything against us, but we need to improve our finishing."
VOZINHA TAKES CENTRE STAGE
Marc Cucurella, recently announced as a major signing for Real Madrid from Chelsea, sent an early long-range effort just over, before Mikel Oyarzabal failed to bring under control a promising through ball inside the area.
Then Vozinha took centre stage. The Cape Verde keeper produced a superb save from Pedri in the 36th minute before Spain almost broke through three minutes later, when Ferran's strike rattled the crossbar. From the rebound, Vozinha somehow clawed away Oyarzabal's header with one hand.
Ferran then wasted a fine chance in the 45th minute, shooting tamely at the keeper, before Vozinha again flung himself across goal to palm Aymeric Laporte's header round the post shortly before halftime.
Spain resumed control after the break, but their finishing remained poor. Oyarzabal mistimed a close-range header after a clever Pedri run down the left, while Fabian Ruiz twice shot wildly from the edge of the box.
De la Fuente waited until the 70th minute to introduce Yamal and Mikel Merino, replacing Gavi and Fabian, and the teenager immediately changed the mood. His acceleration on the right forced Cape Verde to surround him with markers and finally stretched the defence.
In the 88th minute, Yamal slipped a fine pass into Oyarzabal, but the forward's effort was blocked at the last moment.
Cape Verde even earned a late corner, their only effort on target coming in added time, but by then they had already made their point. They even created late chances of their own as they threatened to cause an even bigger upset.
"Today our focus was on defence but we can show in the other games how good we are with the ball," Cape Verde midfielder Laros Duarte told reporters.
"I have a good feeling moving forward because we know what we are capable of. It is realistic to start thinking now in qualifying to the next round and the feeling is good."
The other two teams in Group H, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, meet in Miami later on Monday.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes and Fernando KallasEditing by Toby Davis)
