You may not know where Cape Verde is. Some questioned whether they should be playing in the World Cup. This is their first year qualifying for the games.
Cape Verde is an island off the coast of Africa that has about 500,000 people. They are ranked 67th in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) rankings. Spain, on the other hand, is ranked second and is one of the favorites to win it all.
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But we’ve been seeing special things happen with the World Cup in the U.S., with people from all over discovering how amazing our country is.
I think Cape Verde just definitively put themselves on the map for everyone who didn’t know or believe with their stunning game against Spain at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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“Heroic effort” by the team, and inspired play from a 40-year-old goalie brought one of the biggest shockers of World Cup play yet: Cape Verde drew with Spain, blanking them, 0-0.
UNBELIEVABLE!
IT’S OVER! CAPE VERDE STUNS SPAIN IN A 0-0 DRAW! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DKb8FisOVi
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2026
LOOK WHAT IT MEANS TO CAPE VERDE! 🇨🇻
40-year-old Vozinha and his teammates were emotional after stunning European giants Spain in a goalless draw pic.twitter.com/tyFAwkFOg7
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 15, 2026
Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha kept Spain at bay in the first half despite an onslaught of shots. Spain had seven shots on goal, compared to Cape Verde’s one, but could never find the back of the net.
Mikel Oyarzabal took five of the seven shots.
Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal started the game off the bench, but even he couldn’t find the shot to get past Cape Verde.
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That means each team takes away 1 point for the draw.
Spain’s head coach, Luis de la Fuente, warned about Cape Verde’s ability before the game, saying they were very fast and had knocked out Cameroon, “The public will discover tomorrow, Cape Verde, what they can do.” He was right.
Here are some of Vozinha’s great saves.
— Old Trafford Voice (@OldTrafformdhz) June 15, 2026
He was clearly touched by the moment, saying he’d worked “all his life” for this, “for this moment, for this dream.”
“I worked all my life for this. For this moment, for this dream.” 💙@alexaljoe spoke with 40-year-old Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha after an emotional resonant FIFA World Cup debut 🇨🇻 pic.twitter.com/8Du5Aj4mzV
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2026
Then, in another moment, Vozinha was told by a reporter about his follower count on Instagram. He had about 50,000 before the game. Suddenly, he had 1.5 million after the game. Now, it’s actually 7.8 million, as more people hear how he did.
The moment Vozinha was told he had gained 1.5M Instagram followers because of his performance in the Spain game…
What a moment for the bloke. 👏😅 pic.twitter.com/OdUDdoQRSs https://t.co/ni36lyo7X5
— george (@StokeyyG2) June 15, 2026
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Cape Verde is walking away with a game they can always remember, with more to go.
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