2026 World Cup: Lamine Yamal fails to save Spain as Cape Verde make history

Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal made his World Cup debut, but he could not help the 2010 champions to a win as Cape Verde secured an historic result in their first match in the competition’s history.

Spain came into the match as the overwhelming favourite, and they tried to impose themselves early in the game. 

Luis de la Fuente’s men started on the front foot, trying to work their way around a Cape Verde side that had only one game plan, which was to defend. 

La Roja stuck to their tiki-taka style, with the Blue Sharks struggling to gain control of the possession. 

However, despite Spain’s early dominance, they just could not find a way past the Cape Verdians. Real Sociedad forward Mikel Oyarzabal was the one who found it the most difficult, as he failed to register a single shot in the first 30 minutes of the game. 

Spain later found a way past Cape Verde’s defence, though, as Rodri found Marc Cucurella, who then set up Ferran Torres with a lovely cushion header. 

However, the Barcelona striker could only hit the crossbar from close range. Torres’ missed opportunity was a huge let-off for Cape Verde, but Spain would get another chance minutes later. 

La Roja once again created another goal-scoring opportunity, which fell into the legs of Fabian Ruiz. However, the PSG midfielder was denied by the 40-year-old Vozinha in Cape Verde’s goal. 

Vozinha’s heroic performance ensured the Blue Sharks went into the break with the game tied after making four saves.

The second half started the same way the first ended, as Spain continued to dominate possession, pinning Cape Verde into their half. 

However, just like the story in the first half, the 2010 champions struggled to create any real opportunity. 

With time running out, De la Fuente turned to his bench by bringing on Yamal in the 71st minute of action. Although Yamal added more bite to Spain’s attack, they could not find the breakthrough. 

Things could have even been worse for the Spanish side if Cape Verde had been better on the counter in the dying minutes. 

Nonetheless, the Blue Sharks held on for a point against the tournament favourites in their first World Cup game.