The first 0-0 draw in the World Cup has taken place! No one expected that Spain, the biggest favorites to win this World Cup, would be helpless against the emerging Cape Verde team. The claim that "Spain had no control over the game" resounded again, but behind this was the heroics of Cape Verde's 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozina in the match.
Before the tournament, few people believed that the newly promoted World Cup team, Cape Verde, could score points against the European champion, Spain. However, Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozzini achieved a masterpiece with his performance.
On June 16th, Beijing time, the first round of Group H of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico witnessed the biggest upset to date – the top contender for the championship, Spain, was held to a 0-0 draw by Cape Verde, an African island nation that had participated in the tournament for the first time. Throughout the match, Wozniak made 7 crucial saves, effectively neutralizing the threat of a total expected goal of 1.46.
In the 18th minute of the first half, Spanish forward Fernando Torres scored a powerful header into the crossbar from inside the penalty area. Subsequently, Oyasso’s header was also knocked out of the crossbar by Vojićević. After the match switched sides, 18-year-old Spanish prodigy Javier Hernández made his World Cup debut as a substitute. He delivered several stunning crosses that created opportunities, but the fully fit Vojićević became a formidable barrier at the goal, neutralizing all of his threats. As the final whistle sounded, this veteran player who had spent half his football career in the sport couldn’t suppress his excitement and wept on the field.
Throughout the match, the Bullring Army had a possession rate of over 70%, completing 27 shots, yet they were unable to break through the defenses of Cape Verde. The Spanish starting lineup had a total value of 500 million euros, while Vozigna’s value was only 50,000 euros—he single-handedly managed to keep the Spanish superpower undefeated.
At the age of 40 and 12 days, Vozzini became the oldest player in World Cup history to make his debut.
According to OPTA statistics, he is the oldest goalkeeper in World Cup history to never concede a goal in his debut. He is also the second goalkeeper to be 40 years old or more and make at least 7 saves in a single World Cup match since 1966.
After the match, Wozniak was named the best player of the tournament by the FIFA officials. In an interview, he said with tears in his eyes, "I have spent my entire life longing for and dreaming of this moment. I dedicated my life to improving myself in order to stand on such a top-level stage. Today, I finally managed to be here, and I can use my rich experience to contribute to the entire team. I truly feel very relieved and happy about this."
This draw also gave Cape Verde its first World Cup points in team history, and this match became the first match of this World Cup to end with a 0-0 draw.
After the match, Spain's performance was criticized by Spanish media. The team was accused of having control over the ball but lacking creativity. The AS newspaper blasted the team's performance, saying, "Football is not a passing game."
However, the Spanish team also continued their impressive streak of 32 undefeated matches in official competitions (excluding penalties), a record that dates back to March 2023. During this period, they won the Euro 2024 championship and advanced to the finals of the 2025 European National League.
After the match, Spanish coach Del Favorte said: "The opponent had a very strong organization. We saw them retreat completely, and it's difficult to create space in such a situation. Even if you do a lot, you may still lose to a team that is clearly stronger."
"I will continue to try to convince the players that things are progressing in the right way. It's regrettable that, even after not losing for 3 and a half years, some people still have doubts. But I understand that drawing with Cape Verde was not part of our plan."
(Reporter from Pengpai News, Hu Jie)
