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1 hour ago
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Key events
31 min I wonder whether, if it stays goalless, we’ll see Lamine. Meantime, Ferran picks up possession just outside the box, and feathers a delicate pass into the path of Oyarzabal, outside him. But the first touch is poor, allowing Sidny Cabral to slide in with a precise – and dangerous, given he’s already been booked – challenge.
29 min Pedri spreads to Cucurella, left side of the box, who punches first-time towards Gavi, deeper inside it. But Moreira blocks, the ball bounces up, and this time, the Real Madrid man takes the law into his own hands, leathering a shot just over the bar.
28 min If we were being unkind, we’d chortle that losing 5-1 to Graham Potter makes anyone’s position untenable.
27 min We’re away again, Ryan Mendes nailing Gavi with the chapeau trick so beloved by Patrick Vieira, lifting the ball over his head before unloading a shot directly into Cucurella’s midriff.
25 min Cape Verde could probably have done without that break, while Spain will be pleased for it. I guess it means goalies have less need to feign injury, but I’m reaching; it’s a nonsense and, I fear, one that’s here to stay. Sadly, the various suits prefer advertising income to sporting integrity.
23 min It’s time for the hydration break; the match is being played in an indoor, climate-controlled environment.
22 min Cape Verde move the ball through midfield, finding Jovane Cabral out wide. But when he might attack his man or sling over a cross, instead he goes backwards, and Spain quickly regain possession. That was a decent situation, ruined by a poor decision.
20 min Spain probe again, then Cubarsi loses patience, dragging a miserable effort wide from 20 yards. So far, it’s been a relaxing jaunt for Vozinha in the Cape Verde goal.
18 min I said below that if Spain can keep Cape Verde out for a while, we might get a thriller, but actually the already have. Spain won’t be nervous yet, but they’ve not got close to making a proper chance, lacking the speed out wide and general genius Lamine brings.
17 min Llorente barges by Sidny Cabral, who hauls him back and is booked.
16 min Monteiro gives the ball away and Pedri shoots, dribbling a tame effort straight at Vozinha.
14 min “Cape Verde are parking the bus and that will make the fixture boring,” reckons Mary Waltz. “The odds of CV making the knock out round are slim but the one chance is to keep the goal differential low. Curacao were praised by some for being brave playing a more open style but the seven goals conceded to one scored and that argument.”
I don’t fully agree with that – if Cape Verde can keep Spain out for a while, the attack v defence format will, I promise, be a total buzz, and they become more desperate and the underdogs more confident. I also think that Curacao’s goal is already and eternal moment, making it 1-1 worth losing 7-1 not, say, 3-0. I do agree, though, that a variety of teams will win one game, and what’ll separate those who go through form those who don’t will be goal difference – already the most likely source of Scotland heartbreak.
12 min And there’s that cross for Oyarzabal we talked about, Pedri scything in a terrific delivery … only for Pico Lopes of Shamrock Rovers to stretch the entirety of his corporeal form into a brilliant clearing header, his flick taking the ball away.
11 min Spain win a corner and, when Cape Verde get it away, Monteiro is in space ith Mendes making a run for him … that he can’t find.
10 min This has been a really good start from Cape Verde – Spain haven’t come close to creating anything. And, as I type, Sydney Cabral sticks the ball in behind Llorente, who bodychecks him … but the ref sees nothing untoward.
8 min On that point, though, and like Germany yesterday, they do leave that space as a matter of course. If Cape Verde look to hit it every time, so their passers know to play it and runners know to set off for it, they might just make something happen.
7 min Cape Verde move the ball about the defence, then move forward for the first time and Moreira turns a pass around the corner … and there’s space in behind. But Jovane Cabral can’t find it, so Spain move forward again.
5 min Yup, this is attack against defence, Cape Verde sitting in a 4-4-2 until the ball moves through midfield, whereupon another man or two join the back line. I think it’s Jovane Cabral, the right-winger, making up the extra man.
3 min Without Lamine and Williams, Spain lack the natural width you’d want to get around the sides of the Cape Verde defence. They try to get down the right, Llorente keeping the width, but his pass infield is cut out.
1 min Immediately, Spain are into passing rhythm while Cape Verde, perhaps learning from Curacao yesterday, are playing with a back five.
1 min Away we go!
Thus do Madrid have a player in the Spain squad.
“I wonder what Amorim would have to say on the topic,” says Agnello Figueiredo. “No journalist, no English one anyway, has reported on his views after he left United. It is often surprising to hear the unheard point of view. Would be interesting to. Obviously, people in the business still think he’s worthwhile.”
Silence may be part of his severance package, but I actually think we heard exactly what he thinks while he was in the job. other hand, I’m fascinated to know what he thinks having seen what happened at Old Trafford once he left. And yes, I don’t think he was all bad – if nothing else, good players arrived and less good ones departed on his watch – but the football and results he delivered were (even) worse than I thought possible with the squad he had.
Anthem time. I like Spain’s, I must say, and the absence of lyrics means there’s nothing in it to make a person uncomfortable.
Our teams are tunnelled … and Spain are wearing a wet leather-effect tracky top. I like the red-yellow-red of the three stripes, but the sweatsuit effect is making me feel uncomfortably hot. Here they come!
What a pleasant surprise Sweden were last evening. I really like Yasin Ayari, but I was still surprised to see him score two blinders, as I was to see the team bag five. But with Alexander Isak fit and fresh, they’ve a puncher’s chance against anyone, a back five makes them hard to penetrate, and they’ll now be playing with confidence and belief.
So, where is the game? Well, we know what Spain will do – they’ll keep the ball, progress it through the middle, then look to penetrate and combine. But they’ll also look in behind and go wide for crosses, a newish wrinkle – look out for Oyarzabal at the near post.
But how can Cape Verde get at them? They might target Aymeric Laporte with Ryan Mendes and Livramento darting in behind – he lacks a bit of pace, especially on the turn and over the first yard or two. And they may also fancy themselves to get at Marcos Llorente, as much midfielder as full-back … but whether they can manage good enough possession in that area remains to be seen.
I wonder if he’s learnt anything from his experience at United where, as the first manager in the modern era to be working for a board whose chief priority was to win, he sacrificed everything for a system whose principles didn’t work in the Premier League.
“I report to you from the Fan Zone outside the stadium here in Atlanta,” says legendary correspondent Mac Millings, “queueing for overpriced FIifaapproved merch, and I can tell you that the Cabo Verde fans are ENJOYING THEMSELVES. They paraded along the street to the stadium, chanting and singing all the way, having an absolute ball.”
This is it, isn’t it? Football is so good, the worst people in the world want to trap it, but also, it’s so good, we’re powerless to resist it. Enjoy!
Oh man, this is why I love this game and the privilege of this job. Piran Johnson gets in touch from … Praia, the capital of Cape Verde! “The build up has been marked by excitement at actually playing in the World Cup for the first time and cautious optimism that maybe a miracle can happen (although some are predicting a Curação style whooping). Today has been declared a half-day holiday and all the school kids were in national shirts instead of uniform with almost every car and building flying the national flag. As a UK dual-national here’s to an England v Cabo Verde final and força Tuberão Azuls!”
It’s hard to decry the expanded tournament when it spreads vibes of this ilk. When I think back to the last Euros, one of my favourite moments is Georges Mikautadze’s equaliser for Georgia against Turkey and the match is one of my favourites too, principally because of the support of fans who don’t get to attend tournaments as a matter of course. And it’s these occasions that takes international football to the places the club game can’t reach – the intensity of the patriotism is something else.
Email! “Don’t forget the story of Pico Lopes,” chides Tikthra, “a lad from Crumlin in inner-city Dublin who was first called up to the Cape Verde team in 2019 and became only the second ever League of Ireland player to qualify for a World Cup. Declan Rice and Pico are the only two former Ireland internationals still left with a chance of winning the World Cup.”
I was getting to him! First of all, I’m glad Crumlin has someone other than Conor McGregor repping for them; secondly, UK telly just showed a lovely interview with him in which he explained he was on LinkedIn for employment purposes and the manager of Cape Verde contacted him. Problem was, the message was in Portuguese so he ignored it, but got another, in English nine months later, and here he is, at the World Cup. His relief remains palpable.
On the UK TV feed, Emma Hayes – my favourite pundit – has just made the point that one of the reasons Spain have been so successful is the system that means their players don’t just play together as adults, but have come through the system together. She was talking in terms of on-pitch cohesion, and Juan Mata, who was part of that successful period, adds that socially, they were a family. He does also note that they had the best players in the world at the time, but if history tells us anything, it’s that you tend to need more than that for success.
It’s amazing to me that we don’t see more of this. Merely thinking about someone I’ve never met experiencing these moments is enough to get the eyeballs sweating, never mind actually being that person.
Also, do not sleep on the glorious squareness of Paul Okon-Engstler’s shoulders, as per the photo.
And here’s our guide to … everything?
As for Cape Verde, Logan Costa is missing, presumably because he’s still feeling his way back after rupturing his ACL in pre-season. I wonder if the rationale goes that, whatever he does, his team are struggling for a result here, whereas against Saudi and Uruguay, they’ve a better chances of nabbing a result.
Spain, then, line up pretty much as expected. I can’t say I don’t wonder if, at some point Luis de la Fuente regrets preferring Unai Simon to David Raya in goal, but it was never a debate – in his mind, at least. Otherwise, Ferran Torres and Gavi are given Lamine and Williams’ spots, with Oyarzabal in between, as expected.
Teams!
Spain (4-3-3): Simón; Llorente, Laporte, Cubarsí, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri, Fabian Ruiz; Torres, Oyarzabal, Gavi. Subs: Baena, García E, García J, Grimaldo, Iglesias, Merino, Muñoz, Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Pino, Pubill, Raya, Williams, Zubimendi.
Cape Verde (4-2-3-1): Vozinha; Moreira, Borges, Lopes, Cabral S; Pina K, Duarte L; Mendes, Monteiro, Cabral J; Livramento. Subs: Dos Santos, Benschimol, Rosa, Pina W, Costa, Arcanjo, Rodrigues, Paulo, Varela, Semedo W, Semedo Y, Pires, Duarte D, Da Costa, Stopira.
Referee: Adham Mohammad Tumah Makhadmeh (Jordan)
Preamble
There have never been more brilliant footballers in the world than there are now – one reason it’s so hard to pick a winner of this competition. Knockout ties often come down to which individual delivers – or fails to deliver – at the crucial moment and, with so many countries boasting numerous individuals able to turn a game and humans being inherently unreliable, we can’t know which of them will be grooved – or heartbreakingly, hilariously inept – when the time comes.
But it remains the case that Spain, though not obvious champions, are the hardest team to beat. Things have changed since they won three consecutive competitions 2008-12 – you can’t dominate possession to the same absurd extent once you no longer have Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta – club’s football’s greatest midfield – plus Xabi Alonso, plus another midfielder or two in lieu of strikers.
Yet Rodri and Pedri are pretty handy replacements and, though the control they bring isn’t the same, it’s been replaced with the thrust their champion sides lacked. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams – both expected to be absent today, a precautionary move as they recover from injury – give them a threat in behind and on the outside, while Mikel Oyarzabal, likely to play in between them, is in sensational form at both club and international level.
All of which makes this a tricky – but inspiring – assignment for Cape Verde, making their tournament debut. They qualified top of their group, finishing above a Cameroon side featuring Bryan Mbeumo and Carlos Baleba among others, with only one player – Villarreal defender Logan Costa – playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues. This tells us they’re a settled, organised side and, while they’re better at the back than up front, they’ll be a threat on the counter. As Dailon Livramento, their star attacker said, “We got ourselves into the World Cup, now it’s time to have fun together.”
That attitude makes them a danger even if a comfortable Spain win remains the likeliest outcome here. When, in years to come, we look back on this competition, one of its eternal, affirming memories will be Curaçao’s goal against Germany and Cape Verde are more than capable of delivering us another moment of emotional intensity the like of which only World Cup football can. And really, that’s why we’re here: we can worry about who wins the thing later.
Kick-off: 3pm local, 5pm BST, 12p EDT, 2am AEST.
