Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThey could not have predicted how fitting the team\u2019s anthem would become.<\/p>\n
It will surely be blasted on repeat by their fans the world over in the coming days.<\/p>\n
With history beckoning, Cape Verde coach Pedro Brito, affectionately known as \u2018Bubista\u2019, told reporters, \u201ceveryone is entitled to dream and nothing is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
His words were echoed by supporters in the stands as one woman, her face painted with a flag of the archipelago, held a sign that read: \u201cSmall Islands, Big Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bubista changed half his starting side, some of it enforced, for the all-important final group game but retained his hero goalkeeper Vozinha.<\/span><\/p>\nThe 40-year-old stopper single-handedly kept Cabbo Verde in it as they held out for a famous point against European champions Spain in their first-ever World Cup match.<\/p>\n
He became a social media sensation as a result with his Instagram follower count nearing 17 million shortly after the final whistle.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Vozinha #1 of Cabo Verde signs autographs for fans after the 0-0 draw during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nCabo Verde, which is off the west coast of Africa, claimed a brave 2-2 draw with two-time former champions Uruguay.<\/p>\n
That gave them a scarcely believable shot at the last 32 coming into the encounter against Saudi Arabia, who themselves were still alive.<\/p>\n
Cabo Verde had slightly the better of the first half in Houston against a Saudi side who drew 1-1 with Uruguay before being thrashed 4-0 by Spain.<\/p>\n
The Saudis suffered a blow in the 33rd minute when experienced defender Hassan al-Tambakti was stretchered off injured.<\/p>\n
Spain took the lead towards the end of the first half in Mexico, the news greeted by cheers by Cabo Verde fans in Houston.<\/p>\n
Willy Semedo fired not too far wide of the Saudi post but neither side seriously threatened in a tense first half.<\/p>\n
At that point Cape Verde were going through at Uruguay\u2019s expense. Three minutes after the break Jamiro Monteiro had a major chance from close range but his finish was weak, then Kevin Pina had an effort from distance that whistled just off target.<\/p>\n
The tension went up a notch as they entered the dying minutes, but Saudi Arabia were strangely lacking in invention even though they were chasing the game.<\/p>\n
In the 75th minute goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais kept them in it with a vital stop from Laros Duarte.<\/p>\n
A point was enough for Cape Verde, but if anything, they were the more likely to score as the match ticked into the dying minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beginning, we came here to compete at the highest level,\u201d Bubista said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has always been our mentality. We respect all our opponents and we know their qualities, but we are here with the clear objective of fighting for qualification.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Bubista, Head Coach of Cabo Verde, applauds fans after the 0-0 draw during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThose words echo his comments before the tournament began.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make an impact on the tournament for our people,\u201d Bubsita said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to show everyone watching that yes, we\u2019re a small country, but we can play against the big teams. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it\u2019s hard but we want to show that nothing is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabo Verde have certainly done that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story of the World Cup has taken place with Cabo Verde advancing to the Round of 32 with a scoreless draw against Saudi Arabia. The tiny African island nation with a population of a little more than half a million people also drew against Spain and Uruguay to finish second in Group H and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-250291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}