They huddled around a mobile phone on the pitch in Houston, waiting. The goalless draw with Saudi Arabia was done, but the fate of Cape Verde’s historic World Cup debut hung on the final whistle from the Spain-Uruguay match. When it came, confirming the Blue Sharks had finished Group H runners-up, tears flowed on the pitch and in the stands.
“Tears of pride and joy all around the stands,” said BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Rob Law. “What a moment. The moment of the World Cup so far.”
“Cape Verde become smallest nation to reach World Cup knockout stage; will face Argentina after Messi rested for group finale.”
Cape Verde, a nation of just 525,000 inhabitants scattered across 10 Atlantic islands, have become the smallest country ever to reach the knockout stage of a World Cup. Their reward? A clash with defending champions Argentina in the last 32.
The fairytale was built on resilience: an incredible goalless draw against Spain, where 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was the hero, and a 2-2 draw with two-time champions Uruguay. “It’s incredible what they are doing, it wasn’t just one game against Spain, it is three games at the highest level,” said Spain’s former World Cup winner Juan Mata on ITV.
Much of the credit lies with the Cape Verdean football federation’s strategy of tapping into the diaspora. Fourteen of the 26-man squad were born abroad, six of them from the Dutch port city of Rotterdam. Forward Dailon Livramento, who scored the vital winner against Cameroon in qualifying, spent last season at Casa Pia in Portugal. There is even a Dublin-born centre-back, Roberto Lopes, recruited via LinkedIn in 2019. Former Manchester United winger Bebe is also in the squad.
“The FCF has made significant progress through passion, commitment and a clear technical plan,” said Josina Freitas Fortes, a member of Cape Verde’s parliament.
As Cape Verde savour their history, Argentina prepare for the last-16 tie without their talisman from the start. Lionel Messi, who has scored all five of Argentina’s goals in the tournament, will begin on the bench for the final Group J game against Jordan. Argentina have already won the group, and manager Lionel Scaloni opted to rest the 39-year-old.
“Leo is going to start on the bench and will come on a little later,” Scaloni told journalists. “I will tell you because you deserve a sincere answer.” The answer was directed at Enrique Macaya Márquez, a 91-year-old journalist covering his 18th World Cup. Scaloni hugged him after the press conference.
Argentina left-back Nicola Tagliafico, who has played alongside Messi for years, insists the captain is in imperious form. “From what I have seen of Leo so far, he is at the same level as he was in 2022 or even better,” Tagliafico said. “We are enjoying this. I’m sure he is enjoying it too.”
Messi celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday with a squad party at the team hotel, where each player wore a T-shirt printed with a picture of themselves and Messi. “It was the idea of Rodrigo De Paul,” Tagliafico added. “We had a blast. It was just amazing.”
Cape Verde, meanwhile, will face the defending champions with nothing to lose. As one of their players said after the draw: nothing is impossible.