When the whistle blew to bring extra time to an end in Miami on Friday night, the Cape Verde players slumped to the turf after a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat by defending champions Argentina in the last 32. They had come within 10 minutes of forcing the reigning champions into a penalty shootout. But as the smallest nation in the tournament with a population of around 500,000, they leave the United States knowing they have won many hearts.
“Cape Verde have lost, but they’ve won,” said former Scotland international James McFadden on BBC Radio 5 Live. “They have shown courage, togetherness, unity and unwavering belief in what they are and what they can do. The story of this tournament is Cape Verde.”
“Cape Verde's extraordinary World Cup run ends in defeat; Piers Morgan faces backlash for admitting he'd never heard of them.”
Sidny Lopes Cabral’s wonder goal had almost caused the competition’s biggest shock. After Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead, Cape Verde levelled to take the game to extra time. They went behind again, before Cabral’s stunning strike made it 2-2. But a cruel deflection off Diney Borges from Cristian Romero’s header sent Argentina through.
Former England right-back Gary Neville told ITV it was “one of the greatest performances” he had ever seen from an underdog. “They are crying because they are going home,” he added. “They don’t want to go home. They want to be here for the rest of their lives. They want to be here forever. This is a moment that’s probably not going to come back for some of these players. It’s magical but also upsetting.”
Manager Bubista was bursting with pride. “We showed that we may be a small country but we can play against the best teams in the world,” he said. “That’s a reason for pride. We made history for our country.”
The team arrived ranked 67th in the world, but three group-stage draws — including a shock 0-0 with European champions Spain — set up the monumental task against Argentina. They became the centre of attention, eclipsing even Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.
But not everyone was aware of the tiny African island nation before the tournament. Piers Morgan wrote on X: “I’d never heard of Cape Verde before this World Cup, now I will never forget them. Congrats to the whole squad, and especially the 40yr-old goalkeeper @vozinhapr whose heroics earned him 20m followers on Instagram. Fabulous story.”
His admission drew a swift backlash. “Seriously?? Cape Verde is a holiday & wedding destination,” one user responded. Another added: “You’ve never heard of Cape Verde yet you are a journalist. A sports enthusiast. Speaks lots about you.” “You’re a journalist and never heard of Cape Verde??” a third asked. “Coming from a broadcaster/ journalist and whatever else, your first sentence is very disappointing,” said a fourth.
Morgan replied with: “So many Cape Verde ‘experts’ on here today,” alongside two laughing emojis. The user he replied to fired back: “Don’t have to be an expert, just follow world football competitions and you’d have heard of them.”
Cape Verde were the second smallest nation at the tournament by population, behind only Curacao (158,000). They may be going home, but as McFadden said: “The story of this tournament is Cape Verde.”