In a tournament already defined by surprises, Monday delivered something truly special: a goalless draw between European champions Spain and Cape Verde, a tiny island nation playing in its first-ever World Cup. The final scoreline — 0-0 — doesn’t begin to capture the drama in Atlanta.
The man of the hour was 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who plies his trade in Portugal’s second division. He made seven massive saves, turning away a Spanish side that fired 27 shots on goal. Cape Verde’s entire backline deserves credit too; they committed just one foul all match, refusing to buckle under relentless pressure. For Spain, the result raises uncomfortable questions about their title credentials. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams started on the bench, but even with that firepower, La Roja couldn’t crack the code.
The Game of the Tournament So Far
If you missed Iran vs. New Zealand in Los Angeles, you missed the most entertaining match of this World Cup. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was nonstop action. Chris Wood showed his class early, setting up Elijah Just for a thumping volley in the sixth minute. Iran responded through Ramin Rezaeian, who finished a lovely move before halftime. But New Zealand kept coming — Just scored his second of the game to become the first Kiwi with a World Cup brace, only for Iran to equalize again through Mohammad Mohebi. Both sides pushed for a winner, but settled for a 2-2 draw that felt like a win for the neutral.
Tunisia Makes Shock Coaching Change
After a 4-0 beating by Sweden on Sunday, Tunisia fired manager Sabri Lamouchi — an unusual move this early in a tournament. According to reports, the Tunisian Football Federation has already contacted French coach Herve Renard, who was shockingly sacked by Saudi Arabia in April, just two months before the World Cup. Renard has led three different nations to World Cups and won two AFCON titles with Zambia and Ivory Coast. He may now return to the tournament after all.
Uruguay had their own troubles, held 1-1 by Saudi Arabia in Miami. Marcelo Bielsa’s side looked disjointed in the first half, and Saudi Arabia took advantage through Abdulelah Al Amri. Uruguay improved after halftime — Bielsa even pulled Darwin Nunez off — and equalized through Maxi Araujo, but couldn’t find a winner. Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais redeemed himself with nine saves, the most of any keeper in the tournament so far.
Egypt is still searching for its first-ever World Cup win after a 1-1 draw with Belgium in Seattle. Emam Ashour scored a beauty from the edge of the box to put Egypt ahead, but Romelu Lukaku — on the pitch for just 22 seconds — forced an own goal from Mohamed Hany to level it. Egypt has now gone eight World Cup matches without a win, dating back to 1934.
Monday proved that in this World Cup, no result is guaranteed — and the smallest nations are writing the biggest stories.
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