The World Cup has officially made it to Atlanta, Georgia, and the atmosphere surrounding the Spain vs Cape Verde opener did not disappoint. Normally, these instant reactions dive into the match itself, but at the World Cup, the 90 minutes on the pitch are but a crumb of what the whole day is about. Spain played dominantly but went into the half with a 0-0 draw against a defensively stubborn Cape Verde side, while the fans of each team undeniably brought an intensity and atmosphere that was a flavor of its own. Here are the final whistle thoughts live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta Stadium!
Cape Verde and their fans
Honestly, what else could you ask for? It’s their first World Cup appearance, and not only did the fans show up and turn the place into a party, the team went toe-to-toe against Spain. It was an incredibly respectable match played by the Blue Sharks, who put on a clinic in the field of “we’re going to pragmatically play our game and see where it gets us.” They never tried to pull tactics or strategies that didn’t fit their style, knowing Spain could punish them from any slip-up. They just settled into a back 5 and absorbed an insane amount of pressure. In the expanded format, that’s the game some of the smaller teams will have to play if they want a chance to make it out of the group.
And the fans? Just phenomenal. I spoke with a family who traveled down from Massachusetts and whose patriarch was born in Cape Verde before moving to the United States when he was a teenager. Some of this was via an interview I’ve added to social media and will be on our live show this week, but even talking to him off camera, he shared just how overwhelmingly happy he was to be able to see this moment for his country. And truthfully, that’s what this whole thing is about. The whole family then joyfully proceeded to join the absolute party of Cape Verdean’s celebrating prior to the game.
Spain?
Followers of our Atlanta United coverage know I write these reaction posts as the game progresses. As I type this, it’s the 80th minute and Spain, though absolutely banging on the door, has yet to find the opening goal. Had you told me that would be the story last week, I would’ve laughed in your face. But here are, for all Cape Verde has done defensively, Spain has been entirely unable to find the final product. It hasn’t helped that Vozinha has played what might amount to the game of his career, but the widely-regarded favorite isn’t going to be much of a favorite for long if they can’t consistently break down teams that want to bunker.
When Lamine Yamal entered, it certainly helped destabilize the Cape Verdeans a bit, but the Spaniards are going to have to be less conservative going forward. For the Blue Sharks’ part, Vozinha was an absolute lock for Player of the Match.
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It wasn’t the match anyone expected, and that’s totally fair, but what an amazing start to the matches that’ll be played here. Cape Verde made absolute history, and their fans are celebrating like they just won the entire tournament. Let us know down below what you thought of the match, and be sure to check out all our socials for a ton more content!
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To be fair, Spain usually don’t win their WC openers. Credit to CV and their fans for the historic performance