Sports

IIE DIGITAL DESK ;  June 16: The relatively unknown side Cape Verde held football giants Spain to a draw. On Monday night, Cape Verde managed to stop one of the tournament favourites, Spain, from scoring, ending the match in a goalless 0–0 draw. Remarkably, this was achieved by Cape Verde, the second smallest country in the world in terms of population to ever feature in a World Cup.

Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, Vojinia, was seen in tears after the final whistle, having made seven crucial goal-line saves that secured his team their first historic point on the world stage. It was a day of celebration for the nation, and his heroic performance became the defining moment of the night.

Spain, the star-studded former world champions, completing as many as 801 passes, they were unable to break through the defence of Cape Verde, a team ranked 64th in the FIFA rankings. The Spanish side dominated possession throughout the match but failed to convert their control into goals.

Statistics from World Cup history show that such giant-killing moments are not unheard of. In the 2002 World Cup, debutants Senegal shocked defending champions France with a 1–0 victory. Similarly, North Korea defeated Italy by the same margin in the 1966 World Cup. More recently, Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina in the last World Cup with a famous victory.

Surprising result has been added to that list: Spain 0–0 Cape Verde. For a debutant team, taking a point from one of the tournament favourites like Spain is no small achievement, and it has already become one of the talking points of this World Cup.