A 40-year-old keeper keeps Spain at bay at halftime in Cape Verde's World Cup debut

Every time Spain found a way past the Cape Verde defence, one man stood in their way — veteran goalkeeper Vozinha. The 40-year-old produced a string of crucial saves as Cape Verde held Spain to a goalless first half in their Group H FIFA World Cup clash at Atlanta Stadium on Monday.

Cape Verde spent much of the opening 45 minutes defending deep, effectively parking the bus in front of goal and forcing Spain to search patiently for openings. Despite dominating possession and creating the better chances, La Roja were unable to find a breakthrough.

Spain's best opportunity came in the 39th minute. Marc Cucurella surged into the final third and delivered a cross into the penalty area. Ferran Torres' effort struck the post before Mikel Oyarzabal headed the rebound towards goal, only for Vozinha to tip the ball over the crossbar with an outstanding save.

The Cape Verde goalkeeper was called into action again five minutes later, comfortably gathering another Torres effort to preserve the deadlock.

While Cape Verde occasionally ventured into Spain's half on the counterattack, they rarely threatened. Their attacks often fizzled out before reaching the penalty area and goalkeeper Unai Simon was largely a spectator throughout the opening half.

As expected, Spain controlled possession and dictated the tempo with their trademark short-passing game. Their first notable opening came in the 11th minute when Pedri whipped a dangerous ball into the box from the left flank, but no Spanish attacker could get on the end of it and the Cape Verde defence cleared the danger.

Torres threatened again in the 16th minute, only to see his effort blocked as Cape Verde continued to defend resolutely and frustrate Spain's attacking rhythm.

Cape Verde's first meaningful forward move arrived in the 21st minute when they worked the ball down the left wing. However, the attack broke down before reaching the final third, allowing Spain to regain possession and resume their control of the contest.

Despite enjoying the overwhelming share of possession and registering far more attempts on goal, Spain went into halftime still searching for the breakthrough.

Earlier, Spain benched Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Victor Munoz after they recovered from injuries, and they are available if needed. Mikel Oyarzabal leads Spain's attack, while head coach Luis de la Fuente has opted to start Gavi ahead of Alex Baena in midfield.

Cape Verde, meanwhile, is led by captain Ryan Mendes, the country's most-capped player and all-time leading goalscorer.

Spain arrives at the tournament seeking to end a run of disappointing World Cup campaigns since lifting the trophy in South Africa in 2010. La Roja crashed out in the group stage in 2014 and failed to progress beyond the Round of 16 in both 2018 and 2022.

For Cape Verde, making their World Cup debut, a positive result against one of the tournament favourites would mark a historic start and significantly boost their hopes of progressing from the group.

Lineups:

Spain: Unai Simon; Marcos Llorente, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Gavi, Mikel Oyarzabal

Cape Verde: Vozinha; Diney Borges, Roberto Lopes, Sidny Cabral, Steven Moreira; Kevin Pina, Jovane Cabral, Jamiro Monteiro, Laros Duarte; Dailon Livramento, Ryan Mendes