Cape Verde’s World Cup run ended at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday night, where Argentina beat them 3-2 after extra time. The defeat sent Cape Verde out in the last 32 after a tournament in which they had already turned heads.
Bubista said his side were “bursting with pride” after coming within 10 minutes of forcing a penalty shootout. Cape Verde twice fought back to level the match at 1-1, only for Argentina to find the winner when Cristian Romero’s header deflected off Diney Borges and sent the reigning champions through.
Sidny Lopes Cabral and Messi
Argentina went ahead through a Lionel Messi goal, but Sidny Lopes Cabral answered with a wonder goal to bring Cape Verde back at 1-1. When Argentina moved in front again, Cabral struck once more to level the match and keep the underdogs alive deep into extra time.
Cape Verde had come into the tournament ranked 67th in the world and still reached the last 32. They opened with a 0-0 draw against Spain, which gave them their first World Cup point, before scoring their first World Cup goals against Uruguay. From there, the scale of the run only grew.
James McFadden on Cape Verde
James McFadden said on Radio 5 Live: “Cape Verde have lost, but they've won” and “The story of this tournament is Cape Verde. That is what you want to see in a football side.” Gary Neville called it “one of the greatest performances” he had ever seen from an underdog and said, “This is a moment that's probably not going to come back for some of these players.”
The contradiction at the heart of the night was plain. Cape Verde were beaten, but they also left after a last-32 defeat that came against Argentina only after they had pushed the holders to the edge of a shootout. For a debut side that started as the World Cup’s second-smallest nation, the exit came with praise that matched the result.
