Cape Verde produced one of the biggest stories of the FIFA World Cup by reaching the knockout stage in their first-ever appearance.
A hard-fought 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia secured second place in Group H, setting up a mouth-watering Round of 32 clash against defending champions Argentina on 3 July.
The Blue Sharks finished the group stage unbeaten, earning three points and edging past two-time champions Uruguay and hosts Saudi Arabia to achieve the greatest success in the country’s football history.
Cape Verde’s remarkable achievement becomes even more extraordinary when compared with India.
The African island nation has a population of just 5,30,000, making it around 2,790 times smaller than India’s population of nearly 1.48 billion.
Its total land area is only 4,033 square kilometres, which is approximately 815 times smaller than India’s 3.29 million square kilometres.
Despite its modest size, Cape Verde has stunned the footballing world by reaching the World Cup knockout stage ahead of far bigger nations.
Cape Verde looked the more dangerous side for much of the contest.
Willy Semedo forced Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais into an excellent early save before narrowly missing the target with another effort.
Saudi Arabia suffered a major setback midway through the first half when defender Hassan Al Tambakti collapsed without any contact and had to be stretchered off.
Cape Verde continued to push forward and came close with a powerful long-range strike before Al Owais produced another outstanding save to deny Laros Duarte late in the match.
Although neither side found the net, the final whistle sparked jubilant celebrations as Cape Verde secured the point they needed to progress.
Round of 32 Awaits
Cape Verde has now become only the third African nation to reach the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 unbeaten on its tournament debut.
Their reward is a glamour tie against Lionel Messi-led Argentina in Miami, a match that promises to be the most significant in the nation’s sporting history.
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