Zasha @Zasha4point2 - Twitter Profile

🇨🇻 On 25 October 2018, the former Cape Verde coach Rui Aguas sent a LinkedIn message to an Irish-born player with a Cape Verdean father: Pico Lopes of Shamrock Rovers. The defender did not speak Portuguese at the time and ignored it. A year later, Rui Aguas tried again, this time in English, and the rest - as they say - is history. You will likely know this story by now. Every commentator has been telling it throughout the World Cup. But it was a small part of a much broader strategy to help this tiny archipelago of 500,000 people cut adrift in the Atlantic Ocean to reach the World Cup for the first time. That strategy was to target the diaspora, with as many - if not even more - Cape Verdeans living abroad as on the islands themselves. A team of only seven people at the federation (two of whom were based in Portugal, which ruled Cape Verde until 1975, and one of whom was based in Angola) set about the mammoth task of tracking down the best Cape Verdeans around the world. They found players born in France, Portugal and the USA, but Rotterdam proved to be the real goldmine, with six World Cup squad members born in the Dutch port city, which is home to 20,000-30,000 Cape Verdeans. And the achievements of this bunch of diaspora players, led since 2020 by Rui Aguas’ replacement Bubista, have surpassed even their wildest expectations. Heading into this tournament, Cape Verde had reached the round of 16 and the quarter-finals in AFCON 2021 and 2023 respectively. They missed out on the tournament last year, but more than made up for it by qualifying for their first World Cup (ahead of African giants Cameroon in the group). They sealed their spot in a nervy final game against Eswatini in their windy capital Praia, and were drawn in a group with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Nobody outside Africa knew much about them. Or expected them to offer much. But it’s safe to say the world knows who they are now. In their first game they held Spain thanks to the heroic 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, persuaded to come out of retirement to play. He instantly became a viral sensation on Instagram, amassing more than 15 million followers, having performed so well that the US State Department waived their visa policy to let his mum fly in for the game against Uruguay. In that game tonight, they scored their first World Cup goal through Kevin Pina and held their own against a Uruguay side in desperate need of a victory to further their own campaign. The Blue Sharks might have even won it in the end, trying to attack until the very last minute and showing no fear. Two games in - and they have drawn with two former world champions. Beat Saudi Arabia in the final game - or maybe even draw - and they will reach the knockouts on their debut appearance. But whether they do or not, Cape Verde are already the fairytale, the story of the 2026 World Cup. They are heroes to the people at home. And they have won the hearts and minds of the neutrals too. The whole world knows who Cape Verde are now.

SweeperPod's tweet photo. 🇨🇻 On 25 October 2018, the former Cape Verde coach Rui Aguas sent a LinkedIn message to an Irish-born player with a Cape Verdean father: Pico Lopes of Shamrock Rovers. The defender did not speak Portuguese at the time and ignored it. A year later, Rui Aguas tried again, this time in English, and the rest - as they say - is history.

You will likely know this story by now. Every commentator has been telling it throughout the World Cup. But it was a small part of a much broader strategy to help this tiny archipelago of 500,000 people cut adrift in the Atlantic Ocean to reach the World Cup for the first time.

That strategy was to target the diaspora, with as many - if not even more - Cape Verdeans living abroad as on the islands themselves. A team of only seven people at the federation (two of whom were based in Portugal, which ruled Cape Verde until 1975, and one of whom was based in Angola) set about the mammoth task of tracking down the best Cape Verdeans around the world.

They found players born in France, Portugal and the USA, but Rotterdam proved to be the real goldmine, with six World Cup squad members born in the Dutch port city, which is home to 20,000-30,000 Cape Verdeans. And the achievements of this bunch of diaspora players, led since 2020 by Rui Aguas’ replacement Bubista, have surpassed even their wildest expectations.

Heading into this tournament, Cape Verde had reached the round of 16 and the quarter-finals in AFCON 2021 and 2023 respectively. They missed out on the tournament last year, but more than made up for it by qualifying for their first World Cup (ahead of African giants Cameroon in the group). They sealed their spot in a nervy final game against Eswatini in their windy capital Praia, and were drawn in a group with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

Nobody outside Africa knew much about them. Or expected them to offer much. But it’s safe to say the world knows who they are now. In their first game they held Spain thanks to the heroic 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, persuaded to come out of retirement to play. He instantly became a viral sensation on Instagram, amassing more than 15 million followers, having performed so well that the US State Department waived their visa policy to let his mum fly in for the game against Uruguay.

In that game tonight, they scored their first World Cup goal through Kevin Pina and held their own against a Uruguay side in desperate need of a victory to further their own campaign. The Blue Sharks might have even won it in the end, trying to attack until the very last minute and showing no fear. Two games in - and they have drawn with two former world champions.

Beat Saudi Arabia in the final game - or maybe even draw - and they will reach the knockouts on their debut appearance. But whether they do or not, Cape Verde are already the fairytale, the story of the 2026 World Cup. They are heroes to the people at home. And they have won the hearts and minds of the neutrals too. The whole world knows who Cape Verde are now.

0

117

24

13

8K

Zasha @Zasha4point2

21 days ago

@officiall_logo 🤣🤣

0

11

Zasha @Zasha4point2

21 days ago

@officiall_logo They hired avram grant,WTF? What does he know about football a whole GFA hired him. They have horrible foreign/eu coachies/plumbers. SA hired something phelippe trousier a bastard who got everything wrong

1

0

24