Emma Hayes praised Cape Verde’s landmark draw with Spain as a “victory for immigration” after one of the early surprises of the World Cup’s opening week.
Playing at the FIFA finals for the first time, the African nation produced a disciplined and impressive display to hold the reigning European champions to a goalless draw in Atlanta, Georgia.
The match marked the opening World Cup fixture for both sides, but it was Cape Verde who emerged with the greater sense of achievement after frustrating one of international football’s most established powers.
Speaking at the final whistle, Hayes, now manager of the US women’s team and working as a pundit, praised the makeup and resolve of the Cape Verde squad. “This is a victory for immigration and for the quality of a team that have been put together from all over the world that are representing their crest,” she said.
She also rejected any suggestion that the result had come through luck alone, adding: “It wasn’t a fortunate result, it was well earned.”
The contest, played in the early hours of Tuesday morning UK time, carried extra significance given the scale of the achievement. Cape Verde, one of the smallest countries ever to reach the World Cup finals, has a population of around 529,000 and was facing one of the game’s heavyweight nations.
Luis de la Fuente’s team could not find any way through Cape Verde’s defences, even with the introduction of teenage superstar Lamine Yamal for the final 20 minutes.
His side had 23 shots at goal, with eight on target, but an impressive seven saves from goalkeeper Vozhino kept the African side on a level pegging.
Emma Hayes hailed Cape Verde’s historic draw against Spain a ‘victory for immigration’ last night as the World Cup continues its first week
Vozinha, 40, became the oldest keeper ever to maintain a clean sheet on World Cup debut, and his heroic performance has seen him gain m ore than six million followers on Instagram
The 40-year-old became the oldest keeper ever to maintain a clean sheet on World Cup debut, and his heroic performance has seen him gain more than six million followers on Instagram – up from just 50,000 before the match.
Both sides are yet to play Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in the group stages. When the sides met earlier this week, Saudi Arabia also caused an upset by fighting back to a 1-1 draw.
ITV’s pundits were stunned by the result, with both Hayes and former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou praising Cape Verde’s discipline.
She continued: ‘Not at any moment did they jump out of areas in the wrong moments.
‘They stuck to their task, they were disciplined, they were aggressive, they had very good transition moments.’
Fellow pundit Postecoglou added: ‘The greatest in sport and in football lies in the intangibles.
Spain were held to a 0-0 draw by Cape Verde in the biggest shock of the World Cup so far
The tiny West African country produced a magnificent defensive display at Atlanta Stadium
‘There was something inside those Cape Verde players that wasn’t going to let them yield today.
‘We sat here and analysed the teams and you say, well, Spain should really win this comfortably, but we don’t have what they have inside them, in their hearts.’
Cape Verde edged out previous quarter finalists Cameroon to top their qualifying group and at the time, the team represented the smallest country to ever make the World Cup finals.
Their record was beaten two weeks later by Curacao, a Caribbean island nation with just 155,000 residents.
With the two openers in the group both ending in a draw, Cape Verde will be hoping it can pull off an even more historic feat by making it to the knockout rounds.
They will next face Uruguay on Sunday night, hours after Spain tackles Saudi Arabia from 5pm.
