<\/div>\nCAPE VERDE STUN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Yet a Spain side featuring a Ballon d\u2019Or 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\u2019s dogged defence.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery proud. For me it is an honour for me to represent my country,\u201d Vozinha told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Vozinha #1 of Cabo Verde applaud fans after the 0-0 draw during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Cabo Verde at Atlanta Stadium<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n– Nomadic club career –<\/b><\/p>\n
Vozinha was only really tested in a short spell of Spanish pressure just before half-time.<\/p>\n
He turned over Mikel Oyarzabal\u2019s looping header and got down well to Ferran Torres\u2019 low shot before producing his best stop at full stretch from an Aymeric Laporte header.<\/p>\n
His tears at full-time were provoked not only by the size of Cape Verde\u2019s achievement, but the fact he was not able to share the moment with his mother and grandparents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cried because I grew up with my grandparents and unfortunately they were not here, they died a few years before, and they did everything for me and my life,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso my mum she didn\u2019t manage to be here because of the visa. The money for the visa, we didn\u2019t manage (to do) on time and I would like her to be here.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am very happy and also happy for all the Cape Verdean people.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, left, reacts after the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta.<\/span>Source: AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nVozinha\u2019s nomadic career has taken him from his homeland to Angola, Moldova, Cyprus and Slovakia before his latest move to Portugal.<\/p>\n
And he now has a legion of new fans.<\/p>\n
In just a few hours his Instagram account ballooned from a mere 50,000 followers to two million.<\/p>\n
Cape Verde coach Bubista paid tribute to one of his most experienced players, who on his 89th cap finally reached the biggest stage in world football.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was overcome with emotion. He has a lot of experience and has given so much to get to this stage. They were tears of resilience,\u201d said Bubista.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has spent many years with us. I normally do not like to comment on individuals, but he had a great performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the best player on the pitch but I think we were defensively very strong and he is there to help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/amp-ima-video><\/p>\nAus centre of attention ahead of USA | 02:40<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nEGYPT LET CHANCE AT HISTORIC FIRST SLIP<\/b><\/p>\n
Belgium and Egypt drew 1-1 in their World Cup opener on Monday after a second-half Belgian equalizer spoiled Mohamed Salah\u2019s 34th birthday.<\/p>\n
Emam Ashour opened the scoring early in the first half in Seattle, before Romelu Lukaku came off the bench after the hour to force Egypt\u2019s Mohamed Hany into an own goal.<\/p>\n
With the draw, seven-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt\u2019s wait for a first victory at a World Cup goes on.<\/p>\n
This is their fourth participation in the global showpiece and with Group G fixtures to come against Iran and New Zealand, they will hope to break that hoodoo in North America.<\/p>\n
For Belgium, this tournament is likely the last chance for the remnants of their golden generation to better their third-placed finish in Russia eight years ago and finally win silverware.<\/p>\n
Veterans Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Lukaku are the main protagonists of that group still involved in Rudi Garcia\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n
With all eyes in the Pacific Northwest on Salah and De Bruyne, it was the ex-Manchester City playmaker that created the first moment of note in the match when he dragged a sharp effort narrowly wide in the seventh minute.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Mohamed Salah #10 of Egypt looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between Belgium and Egypt at Seattle Stadium.<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/amp-ima-video><\/p>\nSocceroos turn attention to USA clash | 03:28<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nHowever, it was Ashour who upstaged the pair just before the hydration break when he received the ball in a similar position to De Bruyne but his sweetly-struck effort left Courtois no chance as it whistled into the bottom-right corner.<\/p>\n
It was just the second time in their history that Egypt had taken the lead in a World Cup match — after Salah opened the scoring in a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2018.<\/p>\n
De Bruyne came within inches of levelling early in the second period when he whipped a close-range free-kick over the Egyptian wall, only to see it rocket off the outside of the post.<\/p>\n
Salah responded at the other end as he ghosted into the box but had his downward header punched away by Courtois with Ashour getting his follow-up effort all wrong.<\/p>\n
The match became stretched as both sides came close on a couple of occasions, including a screaming left-footed volley by Belgian captain Youri Tielemans.<\/p>\n
With 65 minutes gone, Rudi Garcia decided to send on Lukaku. The change immediately paid dividends as Belgium\u2019s all-time top goalscorer showed his predatory instincts to dash in on a Thomas Meunier cross, with his presence enough to destabilize Hany who put through his own net.<\/p>\n
Salah departed the field with 15 minutes remaining as Egypt sought to shut up shop and ultimately held out for a point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Socceroos will learn more about their potential round-of-32 opponent as another four FIFA World Cup matches take place on Tuesday. Live updates below! Should Australia finish as runner-up in their group, they\u2019ll face the Group G runner-up in the knockout stage, with those teams in action today as Belgium battles Egypt and Iran faces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":248480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-248479","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}