Cape Verde managed a historic goalless draw against Spain (Image: Getty)
ITV co-commentator Lee Dixon admitted he was choking back tears live on air after Cape Verde held Spain to a goalless draw in one of the biggest World Cup shocks of all time. The Blue Sharks played their first-ever World Cup match against the reigning European champions in Atalanta and managed a hard-earned draw courtesy of a sublime defensive display.
Spain had 23 shots and managed eight on target but a resilient Cape Verde defence, with goalkeeper Vozinho making seven saves, frustrated Luis de la Fuente’s team. Cape Verde are the third-smallest nation at the expanded 48-team World Cup and the country, consisting of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, are home to around 500,000 people. Working the match for ITV, former Arsenal and England defender Dixon got caught up in the emotions of an unforgettable draw for the African country. He said: “I have to say, you might hear it in my voice, I am a bit emotional.
“It’s absolutely fantastic, a brilliant, brilliant performance. They deserve that point more than anything and Spain almost don’t deserve a point. They’ll walk off disappointed, this night is Cape Verde’s. What a performance. Every single one of them. The centre-half, the full-backs, that man there [goalkeeper Vozinho] crying. I’m nearly crying myself.”
Lead commentator Sam Matterface, working alongside Dixon, said: “A 40-year-old goalkeeper, a squad made up of a Cape Verdean diaspora that stretches from Portugal to Romania to America and beyond. And the pockets of blue shirts and blue flags that have sprung up inside this stadium tells its own story.
“It’s a day of immense emotion for Vozinha, a goalkeeper who has been for almost a decade their best. A wealth of experience, the undisputed No.1 and a man who has certainly lived up to his reputation tonight. Spain will be frustrated but this is not their story. This is Cape Verde’s story.
“A point that belongs to half a million people in the Atlantic and a diaspora all over the world. It’s a shock to the system. It’s been made by Cape Verde. It’s finished in Atalanta, Spain nil, Cape Verde nil.”
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Goalkeeper Vozinho cried on the pitch after Cape Verde’s draw (Image: Getty)
A frustrated Spain team could not break down Cape Verde (Image: Getty)
Speaking post-match, ITV pundit and former Australia and Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou said: “The greatness in sport and in football still lies in the intangibles. There was something inside those Cape Verde players that wasn’t going to let them yield today. We sat here, analysed the teams and we said ‘Well, Spain should really win this comfortably.’
“But we don’t have what they have down there inside them, in their heart. There’s a small nation of people now who proudly say, ‘I’m from Cape Verde!’ There’s a recognition from everybody in the world about who they are. They’ll be looking at this group with Uruguay and Saudi Arabia thinking they have a chance [of going through]! They’ve just slayed the dragon in their group.”
Emma Hayes added: “This is a victory for immigration and for the quality of a team that have been put together from all over the world. They are representing their crest and it wasn’t a fortunate result, it was a well-earned result. It was disciplined.”
Former Spain international Juan Mata chipped in to say: “I might have jinxed it when I said we were comfortable in our skin of being favourites! Don’t get me wrong I think Spain can still win this, they can win every single game and be champions.
“But this shows the level of a World Cup. They couldn’t win today because they didn’t play good enough. It was very frustrating to see that they didn’t perform at their best level. You should not need Lamine Yamal to beat Cape Verde but they couldn’t find the chances to score. Credit to Cape Verde, they had an outstanding game.”
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