World Cup Rodri criticized Cape Verde’s strategy in the goalless draw against Spain during the debut of both teams in the 2026 World Cup. The Spanish national team faced a true wall, particularly highlighting the performance of goalkeeper Vozinha. At the end of the match, in statements to RTVE, the Manchester City midfielder did not hesitate to criticize Cape Verde’s style of play. “That’s how they play, they don’t get past the midfield,” he stated. “In the end, it wasn’t possible and there’s little to lament. We knew it was a game of patience. They fell back very quickly. We created opportunities, but we couldn’t score. It’s difficult to play against such a physical and defensive team. The positive is that they hardly created any danger for us, and now we need to work on our finishing,” he emphasized. Spain’s next match is against Saudi Arabia on the 21st at 5:00 PM, a crucial clash for Group H standings, as the Saudis also drew (1-1) with Uruguay in the opening round. The perspective of coach Luis de la Fuente aligned with that of the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, highlighting the defensive merit of the opponent. “They are a very organized team; we saw from the first moment that they had all ten defenders near the area, and that makes it difficult to create opportunities. Perhaps we lacked ball circulation, but when it doesn’t want to go in, it doesn’t go in. We have to keep going; we know this is very difficult, and these are games that are hard to win,” analyzed the coach.
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