Tears flowed on the pitch in Houston as Cape Verde players huddled around a mobile phone, waiting for Spain’s full-time whistle against Uruguay. When it came, confirming their goalless draw with Saudi Arabia had sent them through as Group H runners-up, the emotion was overwhelming. “Tears of pride and joy all around the stands,” said BBC Radio 5 Live commentator Rob Law. “There was a beautiful moment where they were all huddled around waiting on their phones – when the whistle went, tears flowed on the pitch and in the stands. The moment of the World Cup so far.”
Cape Verde, a group of 10 islands in the Atlantic with just 525,000 inhabitants, have become the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup. Their reward? A last-32 tie against defending champions Argentina. It is a triumph built on years of work by the Cape Verdean football federation (FCF), which drew heavily on the country’s diaspora. Six of the 26-man squad were born in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, and 14 were born abroad. Forward Dailon Livramento, who scored the vital winner against Cameroon in qualifying, is one of them. Centre-back Roberto Lopes was recruited via LinkedIn in 2019.
“Cape Verde become smallest nation to reach World Cup knockout stage, face Argentina; Brazil demand referee ban.”
The Blue Sharks opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Spain, where 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was the hero, then drew 2-2 with two-time champions Uruguay. Spain’s former World Cup winner Juan Mata called it “incredible”. Josina Freitas Fortes, a member of Cape Verde’s parliament, said: “The FCF has made significant progress through passion, commitment and a clear technical plan – the results are the product of years of consistent work.”
Uruguay’s defeat to Spain meant they crashed out, while Iran now face a nervous wait. Meanwhile, Brazil have lodged a formal complaint with FIFA over referee Cesar Ramos. After their 3-0 win over Scotland, Vinicius Junior had a goal disallowed when Ramos judged he had fouled Jack Hendry before scoring. The Brazilian FA (CBF) president Samir Xaud wrote directly to Gianni Infantino, requesting that Ramos never officiate another Brazil match, citing a “negative history” dating to a denied penalty against Switzerland in 2018. Carlo Ancelotti declined to comment on the incident, instead praising Vinicius: “He is in great form – one of the best in the world.” Brazil top their group and face Japan in the round of 32.