They had a 1 percent chance. Cape Verde just showed the world how massive that is

Published 4 July 2026 · sports

Nobody inside Miami Stadium expected the silence. It belonged to Argentina. The stands were awash with blue and white, Lionel Messi had already put the

Nobody inside Miami Stadium expected the silence. It belonged to Argentina. The stands were awash with blue and white, Lionel Messi had already put the world champions ahead, and Cape Verde had already done what few believed possible. A nation of little more than half a million people had dragged the defending champions into extra time of a FIFA World Cup knockout match. They were still there, still refusing to go away, even after falling 2-1 behind with only 15 minutes left in the Round of 32 fixture on Friday. Read Full Story Argentina vs Cabo Verde, FIFA World Cup 2026: Highlights Then Sidny Lopes Cabral took the ball. The 23-year-old drifted in from the left, shifted it on to his stronger foot and curled an exquisite strike beyond Emiliano Martinez, one of the finest goalkeepers in world football. For a few fleeting seconds, 65,000 Argentine supporters fell quiet. The smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup knockouts had somehow forced the reigning champions to search for another answer. Cape Verde would eventually lose 3-2. By then, however, the result had almost become secondary. A few days before the Round of 32, Cabral had spoken about the odds stacked against his team. "They gave us a 1% chance of reaching the next round, but we showed how big 1% is," he told The Guardian. That one sentence would come to define Cape Verde's remarkable World Cup. SMALL COUNTRY, BIG HEART Cape Verde had been living on that one percent long before Miami. When Pedro Leitao Brito, better known as Bubista, took charge of the national side in 2020, a World Cup seemed more like an ambition than a realistic target. The former Cape Verde captain first guided the island nation to back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations knockout appearances before turning his attention to football's biggest prize. His side pieced together a five-match winning streak during qualification, including a famous 1-0 victory over Cameroon.

The campaign nearly unravelled away to Libya, where Cape Verde clawed their way back from 3-1 down to rescue a point. They responded by beating Eswatini 3-0 to seal a historic qualification, becoming one of the smallest nations ever to reach a FIFA World Cup. "We're a small country," Bubista said after qualification. "But it's only small on the map. A small country with a big heart." O treinador de Cabo Verde emocionado após o jogo histórico contra a Argentina pic.twitter.com/UX7UJpqjs9— FUTEMENTALES (@FUTEMENTALES) July 4, 2026 That heart carried them much further than anyone expected. Like many Cape Verde teams in the past, this one was built as much beyond the islands as on them. The country's vast diaspora has long been its greatest footballing resource. Captain and record goalscorer Ryan Mendes plays abroad, as do most members of the squad, whose careers have taken them across Portugal, the Netherlands and beyond. Cabral was born in Rotterdam. So was Deroy Duarte, who cancelled out Messi's opener with Cape Verde's first equaliser in Miami before celebrating in front of thousands of stunned Argentine supporters. Duarte now plays his club football for Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria. Cabral's own journey was even less conventional. He worked his way through the German fifth tier with Rot-Weiss Erfurt before earning a move to Portugal's top flight. It is hardly the route one imagines leading to a World Cup knockout tie against the defending champions. Then again, very little about Cape Verde's story has followed convention. 1 PERCENT IS ENOUGH Few gave Cape Verde any chance of surviving Group H. Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia stood in their way. On paper, it looked among the toughest groups in the tournament. Cape Verde ignored the paper. They frustrated Spain in a goalless draw, recovered to earn another point against Uruguay and held Saudi Arabia to qualify for the Round of 32 without winning a single match.