Cape Verde Reaches World Cup Knockout Stage in Historic Surprise

Cape Verde pulled off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history by advancing to the round of 32 in its first-ever World Cup appearance. The small island nation, widely viewed as one of the tournament’s weakest sides, was drawn into a group with former world champions Spain and Uruguay but still survived the group stage.

In its final match overnight Friday into Saturday, Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia. That result, combined with Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay in the other group match, was enough to move Cape Verde into second place and eliminate Uruguay on goal and points outcomes implied by the standings.

Cape Verde had already impressed earlier in the tournament. It opened with a surprising 0-0 draw against Spain, then earned a dramatic 2-2 draw with Uruguay after a crucial goal by Helio Varela of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Those results meant the team no longer came into the Saudi Arabia match as a pure underdog.

The article says Cape Verde will face Argentina next. It frames the achievement as a historic Cinderella run for a country that had never before qualified for the World Cup.