HOUSTON (AP) – Tiny Cape Verde defied the odds and became the youngest nation to qualify for the World Cup finals, thanks to the stellar play of Bosinha, a 40-year-old goalkeeper who epitomized the spirit of his country.
“We’re small,” he said. “But we have big hearts and we are warriors.”
Cape Verde achieved the impossible feat of making it through to the group stage with three consecutive wins. world cup They advanced to the tournament with a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia on Friday night.
The small island nation off the west coast of Africa is making its first appearance on soccer’s biggest stage and is already Holding 2010 champions Spain to a 0-0 draw and came from behind 2-2 result against Uruguay.
“The team was very keen to show this to the whole world,” said Cape Verde coach Bubista, wearing his country’s flag. “We are proud to have reached this stage. We are a small country but we have shown that we will fight for what we want to achieve.”
Cape Verde’s three points put them in second place behind Spain, who beat Uruguay on Friday night to advance through the group stage.
Cape Verde will play reigning World Cup champions Argentina in Miami on July 3.
Draws in all three group games do not guarantee a place in a major soccer tournament. However, several teams have played this competition in the past, including Wales in 1958, Ireland and the Netherlands in 1990, and Chile in 1998. However, New Zealand also lost in the 2010 World Cup with three draws.
On the eve of the match, Bubista said: “Everyone has the right to dream and nothing is impossible.”
The Blue Sharks proved him right, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds as the country of just over 500,000 people advanced to the Round of 32.
A woman with the archipelago’s flag painted on her face held a placard that read, “Small islands, dream big.”
A dream realized by underdogs who continue to run attractively on the world stage.
Vosinha did it with another strong game, which was helped by her success in the tournament. He has amassed over 16 million followers on Instagram.
He saved Mohamed Kanno’s header in first-half stoppage time to keep Saudi Arabia scoreless. He made yet another save in the 66th minute, leaping over and deflecting a shot from Mohamed Abu Al-Shamat.
The third goal came in the 92nd minute, stopping Abdullah Al Hamdan’s shot.
“There is a lot of quality in our national team,” Bosinha said. “Probably for many people, the players from Cape Verde are not enough. But we came here to show that we have a lot of quality and that we are here to compete and that our players can play anywhere in the big competitions and in the big leagues.”
A group of shirtless men in the crowd cheered for Cape Verde, each with one letter of his name painted on their chests.
However, among the crowd of 68,278, Vosinya had a much larger following. his mother, Ana Candida Evola; I watched from my luxurious suite, waving a small Cape Verdean flag. This was Bosinha’s second game of the tournament, after he missed his incredible seven-save performance against Spain due to visa issues.
Cape Verde had a chance to score in the 50th minute, but Kevin Pina’s shot from distance went just over the crossbar. A chance was created in the 74th minute when Lalos Duarte’s shot from the center of the box was stopped by goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais.
The last chance to score came in the final minutes, when Nuno da Costa fired in from the left of the center of the box.
But it didn’t matter. Minutes after the final whistle, Spain had won against Uruguay and a jubilant celebration began among Cape Verde’s players and fans, many of them crying in joy.
Bubista, who led his team to new heights, was asked if he ever imagined he would do so well in the tournament.
“I have always said that Cape Verde will be on such a stage sooner or later,” he said. “Of course, it’s difficult to make such predictions, but I always knew.”
Saudi Arabia finished the group stage with two points and was eliminated.
“We were very poor in terms of creating things, controlling the game and creating action,” coach Georgios Donis said. “And you can’t win the match this way. It will be very difficult.”
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