Cape Verde hero Vozinha sheds 'tears of resilience' after stopping Spain

ATLANTA, United States: Spain failed to find a way past inspired Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha as the 40-year-old secured a stunning 0-0 draw for the World Cup debutants and was reduced to tears at his heroics.

La Roja rolled into Atlanta as one of the pre-tournament favourites, with coach Luis de la Fuente boasting that he has the best squad in the competition.

Yet a Spain side featuring a Ballon d'Or winner in Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, fresh from a second consecutive Champions League victory with Paris Saint-Germain, and packed with many of the squad that won Euro 2024, could not breach Cape Verde's dogged defence.

Even the introduction of Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal on his return from injury in the second half did not break the deadlock as Vozinha marshalled his backline to a clean sheet they will never forget.

"Very proud. For me, it is an honour for me to represent my country," Vozinha told reporters.

"We are from a small country. Our qualification was very difficult in a group with Cameroon and Libya, but we knew if we followed the plan of the coach, we had a great chance to qualify.

"The dream came true. We competed against Spain, one of the best teams in the world. We are very happy and proud of all the players and people of Cape Verde."

Vozinha was only really tested in a short spell of Spanish pressure just before half-time.

He turned over Mikel Oyarzabal's looping header and got down well to Ferran Torres' low shot before producing his best stop at full stretch from an Aymeric Laporte header.

His tears at full-time were provoked not only by the size of Cape Verde's achievement, but also by the fact that he was not able to share the moment with his mother and grandparents.

"I cried because I grew up with my grandparents