Have a great weekend, Cape Verde.
national soccer team After advancing to the World Cup’s last 32 and winning the tournament, they returned home as heroes on Sunday. Lionel Messi and the Argentina national team To overtime. The men’s basketball team also qualified for the second round of World Cup qualifying for that sport.
And all this happened at an already joyous time in Cape Verde, when Sunday was Independence Day.
“Long live Cape Verde,” basketball coach Emmanuel Troboada said after his team defeated Libya in a World Cup qualifier in Cameroon on Sunday.
Long live Cape Verde. Not bad for a country of about 500,000 people, but this is the smallest country to ever compete in a World Cup.
Independence Day was already supposed to be a day of celebration across the island nation off the west coast of Africa, but Sunday got even more festive as the soccer team returned home from Miami. Vosinya, the goalkeeper, filmed a video of workers kneeling and bowing on the tarmac as the plane taxied to the gate.
Ultimately, after an interview at the airport with countless hugs, high fives and selfies, the players and coaches were loaded into the back of a truck and paraded among thousands of cheering fans. On a sunny afternoon, flags waved in the breeze, drummers took to the streets and dance troupes joined in the celebrations.
“We gave everything for Cape Verde,” defender Pico López said.
The soccer team participated in the World Cup for the first time this year. The basketball team qualified for the second round on Saturday before easily defeating Libya on Sunday and is scheduled to resume qualifying in late August with the aim of making its first World Cup appearance in 2023 and qualifying for the 2027 tournament.
“This is historic. This is important,” Troboada said. “Our soccer team has returned to the countryside for a party.”
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
