When the final whistle blew in Miami, the Cape Verde players slumped to the turf. They had just been beaten 3-2 by the reigning champions Argentina in extra time – a cruel deflection off Diney Borges from Cristian Romero's header finally ending their fairytale. But as former Scotland international James McFadden told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Cape Verde have lost, but they've won."
They arrived ranked 67th in the world, the tournament's smallest nation. In their very first World Cup appearance, they earned their first point with a 0-0 draw against European champions Spain, then scored their first goals in a 2-2 draw with Uruguay. Another goalless stalemate against Saudi Arabia saw them advance unbeaten from the group stage – setting up a round-of-32 clash with Argentina at the Hard Rock Stadium.
“Cape Verde's fairytale World Cup ends in extra-time defeat to Argentina, but the smallest nation leaves a lasting impact.”
On Friday 3 July, with a 11pm kick-off in the UK broadcast live on ITV, the Blue Sharks twice came from behind. After Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead, Cape Verde equalised to force extra time. They fell behind again, only for Sidny Lopes Cabral to produce a stunning strike that levelled the score once more. But then came the decisive deflection that sent Argentina through.
"One of the greatest performances I have ever seen from an underdog," said former England right-back Gary Neville on ITV. "They are crying because they are going home. They don't want to go home. They want to be here for the rest of their lives."
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. Cape Verde may have lost, but as McFadden put it: "The story of this tournament is Cape Verde."