Cape Verde put on a brilliant defensive performance against reigning European champions and tournament favorites, Spain. The small African island nation secured their first points at the FIFA World Cup in their first game with an ultra-defensive approach against the 2010 World Cup winners.
Spain went into their tie against Cape Verde as overwhelming favorites, with many predicting a thumping against the World Cup first-timers, but Cape Verde showed the reason why they qualified for the World Cup ahead of African football giants like Cameroon.
The Islanders stayed completely compact, as they sacrificed possession to take a shot at causing an upset in their first-ever match at the World Cup.
Spain had 27 shots in total, with 7 on target, but they could not find the back of the net. The Europeans also missed two big chances, with the clearest one falling to Ferran Torres. Cape Verde’s goalkeeper delivered a brilliant performance to limit Spain.
Vozinha made 7 saves during the match and prevented 1.45 goals on the night. He put in a heroic man-of-the-match performance that saw his Instagram page rise from 50 thousand followers to over 3 million in one night. Cape Verde managed only 1 shot on target and just 26% possession as they celebrated their first-ever point at the biggest football tournament.
Egypt Hold Belgium in Seattle
Many expected Belgium to dominate Egypt in Seattle on Monday evening, but the opposite almost happened. Egypt played actively and showed intensity against a sluggish Belgium side. The Pharaohs scored a brilliant goal through Al Ahly’s Emam Ashour to take the lead, but Romelu Lukaku forced an own goal seconds after coming on to level the score.
The game went end-to-end and looked balanced on paper, but Egypt were faster, hungrier, and more determined than the Belgian Red Devils. On another day, they would have secured a memorable World Cup victory for the African side.
Saudi Arabia 1–1 Uruguay
Chelsea target Maxi Araujo scored a rebound to equalize for Uruguay after Saudi Arabia took the lead late in the first half, also through a rebound after a header from a corner, in Group H’s second match in Miami, Florida.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay looked vulnerable in the first half to Saudi’s counterattacks, but they fixed that in the second half. In the second 45 minutes, Uruguay limited Saudi Arabia to 2 shots, with none on target, and just 24% possession.
Georgios Donis’ Saudi Arabia have shown that they can defend deep and efficiently, a trait that might help them against a side like Spain. Uruguay have also shown they can be patient. They will need that against a side like Cape Verde.
