Cape Verde midfielder Deroy Duarte has explained how his team successfully neutralized Lamine Yamal’s threat following their 0-0 draw against Spain in their first FIFA World Cup appearance. The result is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far.
Yamal started the game from the bench and came on as a substitute with less than 20 minutes remaining. The young winger’s introduction was expected to help Spain break down a resilient defensive Cape Verde. The Blue Sharks rather maintained their strong wall at the back and prevented Yamal from testing their goalkeeper.
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Speaking post-match, Deroy, who currently plays for Bulgarian First League side Ludogorets Razgrad, stated that rather than being intimidated by the roaring crowd and Yamal’s aura, Cape Verde’s left-back and left-winger instantly double-teamed the teenager the moment he touched the ball, which gave him the confidence that the Barcelona prodigy was not going to influence the game.
“You hear all those fans cheering and you can feel from his aura that a serious player is coming on,” Deroy said as quoted by ESPN. “But the first moment he touched the ball, our left-back and left-winger pounced on it. And we knew: today he’s not going to do anything.”
Yamal came on in the 71st minute. While he looked threatening anytime he was with the ball, he could not save Spain from an embarrassing outing.
Cape Verde’s defensive discipline was evident. While Spain managed 74% ball possession, the Blue Sharks conceded just one foul in the match – the fewest by any team in a FIFA World Cup match on record since 1966.
Goalkeeper Vozinha was the hero on the night as he made a total of seven saves and was subsequently named Man of the Match for his heroics.
Elsewhere, the result saw Cape Verde become the first African nation in 24 years to avoid defeat in their first-ever FIFA World Cup match.
Yamal achieves milestone after FIFA World Cup debut for Spain in Cape Verde draw
While Yamal could not find the net on his World Cup debut appearance, the 18-year-old reached a milestone as he became the second-youngest debutant for Spain when he came on at the Atlanta Stadium in Georgia on Monday.
At 18 years and 337 days old, Yamal is only behind teammate Gavi, who made his first appearance in the 2022 edition in Qatar, aged 18 years and 110 days, against Costa Rica.
The winger came into the limelight following his heroics in Euro 2024. While Gavi holds the record for the youngest FIFA World Cup player for Spain, Yamal is the youngest to ever represent the country’s national team.
Edited by Ezekiel Olamide
