Cape Verde draws Saudi Arabia and qualifies to face Argentina

Saudi Arabia drew without goals with Cape Verde, at dawn  on Saturday, June 27, at the end of its journey within the competitions of Group H of the FIFA World Cup, to book the African team, participating for the first time in the finals, a ticket to qualify for the round of 32 accompanied by Spain, the European champion, who decided the top of the group with a 1-0 victory over third-placed Uruguay.

In a match that coincided with the one-month anniversary of Greek coach Georgios Donis, after replacing Frenchman Hervé Renard at the last minute, Saudi Arabia failed to find the back of the net, while its goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais saved his goal from a dangerous solitary near the end.

Saudi Arabia bid farewell to the tournament after drawing 1-1 with Uruguay in the opening match, before losing by four to Spain in the second round, needing a win over Cape Verde to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.

Spain increased their tally to 7 points at the top of the group, thanks to Alex Baena's goal at the end of the first half, followed by Cape Verde with three points from three draws and will face Argentina in the round of 32, while Uruguay came third with two points, the same balance that Saudi Arabia remained at the bottom of the standings.

Cape Verde became the youngest country ever to reach the knockout stage of the World Cup, and remains the only time the Saudi national team reached the knockout stages of the 1994 World Cup, which was also held in the United States.

Saudi coach Donis said the inability to keep the ball and the threat of Cape Verde's goal in the final third were the main reasons his team faltered.

"We had difficulties creating chances. When you play a game like this and you can't control the tempo of the game, you don't create attacking chances, it's hard to win."

Equal Half

After a minute of silence to mourn the victims of the Venezuelan earthquake, the Cape Verde national team imposed its control of the ball in the first minutes, and it was the relatively better side, and Saud Abdul Hamid,  the defender of the Saudi national team, received a yellow card for a violent intervention in the fourth minute, before the Saudi national team began to advance offensively, and Cape Verde's Wagner Pena received a warning after a rough intervention in the ninth minute.

The first Saudi threat came in the 17th minute through Salem Al-Dosari, with a shot from the left side of the box, saved by a defender. Willy Semedo responded in the 22nd minute with a powerful shot towards the bottom left corner, but the goalkeeper Al-Owais saved it and turned it into a corner.

The match was stopped in the 30th minute for the treatment of Hassan Timbukti, who later came out carrying a stretcher, with Ali Lagami replacing him. Cape Verde relied on quick counter-attacks, taking advantage of Saudi players' passing mistakes, but the Saudi defense handled them well.

Semedo shot a powerful ball from the edge of the box in the 42nd minute, but it passed by the goal, before Mohamed Kanno responded with a header from inside the area in the second minute of stoppage time, which the referee counted as six minutes away, but it was saved by Cape Verde goalkeeper Fouzinia.

The Saudi goalkeeper shines

The Saudi national team started the second half with a header from Firas Al-Breikan following a corner kick, but it passed next to the goal, while Jamiro Monteiro shot a ball towards the bottom left corner, which was saved by Al-Owais in the 48th minute.

In the 50th minute, Kevin Pena fired a shot from outside the area that went just wide of the goal, before Semedo fired a shot from inside the area three minutes later, but the defence blocked it.

In the 64th minute, Jamiro Monteiro sent a cross from outside the area, which was kept away by the defense, before Al-Owais shined again in the 75th minute, when he blocked a dangerous solo from Larus Duarte, turning the ball into a corner.

Nasser Al-Dossari shot a powerful ball from outside the area in the 83rd minute that hit the defense without danger, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan shot a weak ball that was easily saved by the goalkeeper Fawzinia in stoppage time of the second half.

Deruy Duarte, who was crowned Player of the Match award, said: "I feel like I'm living a dream. Since I was a kid I have dreamed of playing in the World Cup."

"From tomorrow we will focus on the next game. It's against Argentina, right? It's a tough match, but let's believe that anything is possible."

Cape Verde's Daylon Livramento said his team had sought to impose its own style against Saudi Arabia, while noting the importance of seizing opportunities in the upcoming match against Argentina.

"We tried to play our way, and in this game we were able to show that," he said, adding: "In the end we will review what we could have done better, such as finishing attacks, but that's about the next game. Now, we will celebrate."

Spain in the lead

Spain knocked Uruguay out of the tournament and  the Spanish team struggled to break through Uruguay's organised defence, before Alex Baena broke the deadlock before half-time.

The only goal came in the 42nd minute, when Baena took advantage of an empty space on the edge of the box and shot a powerful ball that veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera failed to deal with, to escape from his hands and settle into the net.

Uruguay substituted their goalkeeper for this mistake at half-time, but despite the constant pressure in the second half, they were unable to overcome Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon, who blocked the attempts of Matias Oliveira and Nicolás de la Cruz, while Ferran Torres' shot hit the crossbar on the opposite side.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said: "Today's game was really difficult. We had very difficult games, but the team always rises to the challenge. We played a different style today, but the team responded again."

"We are very happy that we have gone through three very difficult games,"  said Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa, adding that this  was to improve the team's creativity.

Close censorship on Lamine Oh Amal

Uruguay started the match strongly, seeking  to reduce the danger of Amine Jamal on the right flank, as the team's defense imposed a close control on the young player.

Spain, on the other hand, relied heavily on set-pieces in the first half, as Pau Kuparsi missed a chance with a header from a corner by Baena in the 16th minute, before missing another chance from close range after another pass from him.

 Uruguay had its most dangerous chances in the first half in the 27th minute, after Federico Balberdi pressed Rodri, to make a mistake, and the ball reached Darwin Nunez inside the box, but he chose to shoot with his heel instead of ending the attack directly, and the opportunity was wasted.

The second half followed the same approach, as Uruguay continued to press, but lacked accuracy in  the final attacking third. Federico Vinas came on as a substitute for Balberdi, and almost made the difference, but his shot from Maxi Araujo's cross went wide of the target.

The Spanish national team brought on Dani Olmo, who wasted a chance from the heart of the box following a cross from Amine Jamal in the 63rd minute, while coach Luis de la Fuente's team looked in control of the game.

Uruguay stepped up their efforts in the final minutes, but goalkeeper Unai Simón blocked Matias Oliveira's shot before blocking Nicolas de la Cruz's right-footed effort from outside the box.

Ferran Torres almost extended Spain's lead when his right-footed shot hit the crossbar from inside the box following a pass from Fabian Ruiz.

Agustín Canopbio's red card in stoppage time, following a reckless tackle on Pau Kuparsi, embodied the frustration that gripped the Uruguayan players, while Spain won the game effortlessly in the final minutes.