Cape Verde, making its World Cup debut, pulled off a stunning 0-0 draw against heavily favored Spain on Monday.

A Historic Debut

Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito said, “This means everything for our country. We have always said that we wanted everybody to see our country, our team and we have shown organization and braveness and this is proof of what our country is about — resilience and to try to overcome hardships.”

European champion Spain, one of the favorites to win the tournament, was unable to find a way past Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper and stubborn defense.

The closest Spain came to finding a breakthrough was when Torres struck the bar shortly before halftime. Cape Verde’s veteran goalkeeper Vozinha broke down in tears after the final whistle following his impressive performance to keep Spain at bay.

A Newcomer’s Pride

Cape Verde defender Steven Moreira described the draw as “a dream.” The group of islands off Africa’s West coast, with a population of approximately half a million, proved its worth on soccer’s biggest stage.

Despite the majority of the 67,640 crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium appearing to be Spain fans, it was the Cape Verde supporters who cheered loudest, continuing their celebrations after the final whistle.

Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.