One of the great stories about the World Cup so far has been the Cinderella team from Cape Verde.
Cape Verde is playing in their first World Cup. Their country is a small collection of islands off the west coast of Africa, near Senegal, and has a population the size of Fresno, California, but they have a great soccer team and a superb goalkeeper. That has, so far, kept them in the game.
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They stunned one of the favorite teams in the tournament, Spain, in their first game, playing them to a 0-0 tie, primarily on the brilliant saves from Cape Verde goalie, Josimar José Évora Dias, known as Vozinha.
Then, in their second game against Uruguay, they got their first goals. The game ended in another draw, 2-2.
READ MORE: Underdog Team Delivers Shocking Result at World Cup Game, Thanks to Amazing Play From Goalie
Rubio’s Good Deed Gets Happy Ending as Cape Verde Pulls Off Another World Cup Shocker
Then on Friday, against Saudi Arabia, they pulled off another scoreless draw, playing well in the second half, nearly scoring on a couple of efforts.
They were very close here, but Saudi Arabia was able to hold them off.
A great save by Mohammed Al-Owais 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/a4CWEwAnHg
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2026
Vozinha was solid with the saves, and his mother, who was able to make the tournament with help from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department, loved it.
The crowd in Houston celebrates Vozinha’s first save of the game for Cape Verde 🇨🇻
And his mom is loving it! pic.twitter.com/run11cjPhR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2026
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Vozinha’s mom is JUMPING UP AND DOWN CELEBRATING her son 🇨🇻
How can you not love these scenes from the FIFA World Cup! pic.twitter.com/EpM01eTUHB
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2026
Spain beating Uruguay helped to secure second place in Group H for Cape Verde, ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. That meant that they finished the stage with three points, were undefeated, and they advanced to the knockout round.
They will next face another one of the favorites and the defending champions in the tournament, Argentina, on July 3. The ESPN story linked above reported:
“I don’t think any of us dreamed of this,” Vozinha said after Friday’s match. “But we know we have a lot of quality. Qualifying for the next round today is extremely rewarding for us. It’s a dream for any player to play against Argentina and against Messi.”
After their match ended, Cape Verde’s players huddled around a phone to make sure Spain saw off their 1-0 win over Uruguay. “I almost wanted to cry,” midfielder Deroy Duarte said. “It was so emotional. Everybody was just waiting and praying and hoping that the result was good. It was a very special moment. [Something] I’ve never felt on the pitch. And I hope we can feel the same feeling in the next game.”
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Here was that moment they found out they were advancing, as the players crowded around a phone.
THE MOMENT THE CAPE VERDE PLAYERS REALIZED THEY ARE THROUGH TO THE KNOCKOUT STAGE 🇨🇻
WHAT A MOMENT FOT THE DEBUTANTS! pic.twitter.com/SHWc1hsjgg
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2026
CAPE VERDE CELEBRATING WITH ITS FANS 🇨🇻
The types of scenes only the FIFA World Cup can provide! pic.twitter.com/nH2k84SVsn
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2026
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