Spain Player Ratings vs. Cabo Verde: World Cup Opener Springs Huge Surprise

Lamine Yamal’s impetus was sorely missed in a match of defense versus attack.

Mikel Oyarzabal was among the players to miss chances in the Group H opener. | Roberto SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

Spain was held to a shock 0–0 draw its 2026 World Cup opener against Cabo Verde in Atlanta on Monday.

The heavy favorites probed patiently, and then less patiently, as the crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium grew audibly frustrated with a first half that failed to represent a favorable money spent to action witnessed ratio.

As Spain started to make in-roads it was 40-year-old Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha who emerged as the game’s surprise star, with four saves in the opening 45, including tipping Mikel Oyarzabal’s header over the bar after a Ferran Torres shot from inside the six-yard box had cannoned back off the goal frame.

In the second half, Spain continued to make hard work of the task at hand as Luis De la Fuente’s team pushed its xG north of two but failed to make a breakthrough.

In the end, it was a historic result for debutants Cabo Verde, who showed themselves to be no pushovers. A goalless draw is by no means a total disaster for Spain in terms of qualification chances, but failure to put away FIFA’s 67th-ranked team shows there is serious work to do.

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The One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Spain badly missed Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on Monday. | ablo Garcia/Soccrates/Getty Images

Three-and-a-half years ago at the World Cup in Qatar, Spain kickstarted its campaign with a thumping 7–0 win over Costa Rica. There was no such procession today for one of the pre-tournament favorites who toiled against Cabo Verde—a nation with a population smaller than the city of Málaga.

A drab first half badly missed an injection of dynamism and pace in attack, as Spain got caught reverting to the worst of their pre-Euro 2024 sluggishness in possession.

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Spain’s flying wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are—understandably—being eased back in after injury, but the pair’s absence left a vacuum in the team.

Yamal, in particular, on Spain’s bench appeared to generate a gravitational pull on the TV cameras the minutes ticked by without a breakthrough. His introduction on the 70th-minute mark got the biggest cheer of the night, but the Barcelona teenager couldn’t make a difference on his own against dogged opposition.

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Spain Player Ratings vs. Cabo Verde (4-3-3)

Lamine Yamal provided some drive down the wing in the second half. | ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Unai Simón—7.3: Just one save to make all match. Simón was so uninvolved in the actual gameplay Gianni Infantino may have considered charging him for his view of match.

RB: Marcos Llorente—7.9: Again very little to do defensively, the Atlético Madrid star created three chances going forward and was his regular indefatigable, if blunt, presence.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—7.9: The Barcelona teenager did nothing to dissuade De la Fuente that he should continue as a starter in the coming group games. He will, however, have tougher tests.

CB: Aymeric Laporte—7.5: The veteran center back cut a frustrated figure, even taking a wild pot shot from further than 20 yards at one point.

LB: Marc Cucurella—7.4: The new Real Madrid signing was busy in attack and put the ball on a plate for Torres in the first half with a deft header back across goal, but the forward could only rattle the bar. He then failed to get enough power on another header that was comfortably saved late in the second half.

CM: Fabián Ruiz—7.5: Available and typically tidy in possession, Ruiz ultimately lacked cutting edge before being subbed off after the second hydration break.

CM: Rodri—7.9: The captain had the most touches of any player on the night (136) and was Spain’s fulcrum in the middle, but failed to help twist open the jar.

CM: Pedri—8.6: Often taking up advanced positions, Pedri was Spain’s brightest spark pre-Yamal’s introduction and did his best to act as the chief chance architect.

RW: Ferran Torres—6.4: Hit the bar with the goal at his mercy, Torres was uncharacteristically limp as Spain’s Yamal stand-in, losing all eight of his ground duels against particularly hungry opposition before being taken off.

ST: Mikel Oyarzabal—6.3: The man with 12 goals in his last 11 for his country largely failed to get a toehold in the game. His best chance came five minutes from time as his shot was impressively blocked by Shamrock Rovers’s Pico Lopes.

LW: Gavi—6.8: Taking up more of an inverted role, the fluid interchange of positions that De la Fuente presumably wanted from his No. 9 didn’t really manifest before the Barcelona starlet was subbed off.

SUB: Mikel Merino (71’ for Ruiz)—6.7: Did little to add impetus during his cameo.

SUB: Lamine Yamal (71’ for Gavi)—6.4: Brought on to great cheers in Atlanta, the 18-year-old immediately added some oomph down the right.

SUB: Dani Olmo (81’ for Torres)—N/A

SUB: Nico Williams (87’ for Rodri)—N/A

Subs not used: David Raya (GK), Joan García (GK), Eric Garcia, Marc Pubill, Pedro Porro, Alex Baena, Alex Grimaldo, Martín Zubimendi, Yéremi Pino, Borja Iglesias, Víctor Muñoz

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What the Ratings Tell Us

Spain struggled against FIFA’s 72nd ranked team. | ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

• Rated as one of the world’s best midfielders for a reason, Pedri took on the onus as Spain’s creative hub in the absence of the stars still chasing full fitness. No player created more chances (5) or completed more dribbles (3) in the match.
• Oyarzabal may have been a good pre-tournament pick for the Golden Boot, owing to his impressive recent international form, but both he and Torres looked far off their best in attack, failing to covert the chances Spain was able to carve out.
• In just 19 minutes played, Yamal had 36 touches—more than Oyarzabal who played the whole night—showing how much his Spain teammates looked for him as soon as he came on.

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The Numbers That Explain Spain’s Disappointing Display

Spain dominated possession in Atlanta. | ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

• Spain absolutely dominated possession with a tournament-high 74% against Cabo Verde, but ultimately it counted for nothing as they couldn’t work out how to break down a well-organized team playing up to the occasion.
• The Spanish racked up an eyebrow-raising 27 shots on the night, generating an xG of 2.27, but created just 2 big chances for all their dominance.

Statistic	Spain	Cabo Verde
Possession	74%	46%
xG	2.29	0.29
Total Shots	27	6
Shots on Target	7	1
Big Chances	2	1
Pass Accuracy	92%	73%
Fouls	10	1
Corners	11	1

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