 |
Spain entered the match as the favorites. Photo: Reuters . |
Spain enters the 2026 World Cup as a strong contender for the title. They possess a young, technically gifted squad, have dominated European football, and are considered by many experts to be the team playing the most perfect style of football currently.
But on the night of June 15th, their opening match against Cape Verde in Group H revealed the downside for the Spanish team. "La Roja" dominated possession and controlled the game almost completely, but only managed a goalless draw.
This wasn't the first time Spain had found themselves in this situation. Memories of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar suddenly resurfaced when Luis de la Fuente's team controlled possession but lacked sharpness in the final meters.
 |
Despite creating pressure, Spain were unable to break through Cape Verde's defense. Photo: Reuters . |
When "La Roja" loses its element of surprise.
The absence of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams from the starting lineup clearly made a difference. These are two players capable of dribbling, breaking through defenses, and stretching the opposition's backline. Without them, Spain maintained possession but lost the element of surprise.
Ferran Torres and Gavi are good players. However, they are not the type of players capable of breaking through well-organized defenses. This makes Spain's attacks down the flanks much more predictable. Cape Verde only needs to maintain a tight formation to block most of their opponents' attacking moves.
It would be unfair to focus solely on Spain's problems while ignoring Cape Verde's outstanding performance. The team, making their World Cup debut, played a disciplined game. They defended with focus, maintained good spacing, and had a hero in Vozinha.
The 40-year-old goalkeeper repeatedly denied Spain's chances. However, Vozinha's emergence as the star of the match also reflected the reality that Spain hadn't created enough truly dangerous opportunities.
 |
The draw was disappointing but served as a wake-up call for "La Roja". Photo: Reuters . |
Cape Verde illustrates De la Fuente's problem.
A statistic from Opta shows that Mikel Oyarzabal is the first player since 1966 to go more than the first 30 minutes of a World Cup match without touching the ball. That number speaks volumes about the deadlock in Spain's attack.
The worrying thing is that De la Fuente still has alternatives like Alex Baena, Yeremy Pino, or Victor Munoz. They may not be at the level of Yamal or Nico Williams, but they are capable enough to maintain their familiar style of play.
However, the manager hesitated and then opted for a safer option, bringing on Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams in the second half. Nevertheless, having been sidelined for over a month due to injury, they were unable to immediately change the course of the game.
A draw isn't a disaster, as Spain still has a chance to advance and compete for the top spot in Group H. But Cape Verde showed something that many big opponents will surely remember about Spain.
"La Roja" remains a title contender, as predicted. However, without game-changing players on the wings, the team could become quite ordinary. In the World Cup, sometimes even a small weakness can derail the journey to conquering the gold trophy.
Source: https://znews.vn/cape-verde-vach-tran-tay-ban-nha-post1660048.html
![[Photo] Thousands of people participate in a run to show their support for the campaign "Sharing a common determination to build drug-free communes, wards, and special zones".](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/06/27/1782554475933_0673e2a3df7b5e25076a-8283-jpg.webp)
