Title Contender Spain Held to a Draw by Cape Verde's Defensive Wall

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Spain, a top contender for the North and Central America World Cup and ranked 2nd in the FIFA rankings, suffered a blow to its pride in its opening group stage match. The team was held to a scoreless draw after being blocked by the saves of the goalkeeper from Cape Verde, an African nation making its first-ever appearance in the tournament.

Reporter Ha Sung-ryong has the story.

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With a starting lineup consisting entirely of European big-league players, Spain was considered a "Goliath" against Cape Verde, which has only one big-league player among its 26-man squad. However, contrary to expectations, the match will be recorded as the biggest upset of the group stage so far.

Spain, led by Oyarzabal, Pedri, and Rodri, dominated possession with 74% and relentlessly pressed forward. Yet, they could not break through the dense defense of Cape Verde, which was playing in its first-ever World Cup match, nor could they get past 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who put on a spectacular performance.

Spain even brought on ace Lamine Yamal in the second half after he recovered from a hamstring injury, but despite firing 27 shots, they failed to find the back of the net and finished with a 0-0 draw.

Spain bowed their heads, their pride as a title contender wounded, while fans of the island nation of Cape Verde, with a population of 520,000, celebrated as if they had won the championship.

Goalkeeper Vozinha, who made 7 saves to secure a historic first point for Cape Verde, was moved to tears.

Saudi Arabia, which defeated Argentina in the group stage of the last tournament, also produced an upset by drawing with the powerhouse Uruguay.

Saudi Arabia took the lead with an opening goal in the 41st minute of the first half, but unfortunately missed out on the win after conceding an equalizer in the 35th minute of the second half.

Iran, playing its first match in Los Angeles, trailed New Zealand 2-1 before scoring a header in the 19th minute of the second half to finish in a 2-2 draw.

Belgium, ranked 9th in the FIFA rankings, conceded the first goal to Egypt and trailed for much of the match, but managed to avoid defeat thanks to an own goal by the opponent in the second half.

(Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.