Cape Verde make history and only fall to Argentina in extra time
On their very first World Cup appearance, the tiny island nation took Messi's champions Argentina to extra time and lost 3-2 to a cruel late goal.
Remember this date: it was the day an archipelago of half a million people looked Lionel Messi’s team in the eye and almost knocked it out. On their very first appearance at a World Cup, Cape Verde took defending champions Argentina to extra time and only fell 3-2 near the end of two hours of football. They lost on the scoreboard and won over half the world.
David in flip-flops against Goliath
A little context helps grasp the scale of it. Cape Verde is one of the smallest countries ever to reach a World Cup — no tradition, no giant’s budget, making its debut on football’s biggest stage. On the other side stood Messi’s Argentina, weighed down by favouritism and the fresh memory of lifting the trophy. On paper there was no story; on the pitch there was a game from first minute to last.
The Blue Sharks didn’t just defend. They scored, they equalised, they forced Argentina to throw everything at it. Deroy Duarte struck a beauty and Sidny Cabral made it 2-2, a goal that put the stadium on its feet and Argentina in a panic. Through it all, goalkeeper Vozinha grew into a giant, denying Messi again and again and becoming the face of this historic night.
The goal that decided it — and heads held high
The dream only broke in extra time. Messi reached his 20th career World Cup goal and, in the second half of the extra period, an unlucky passage ended in an own goal off Borges, the ball betraying Vozinha and dying in the back of the net. That was how, by the finest margin and the cruellest route, Argentina escaped and moved into the last 16, where they’ll meet Egypt.
What remains is the certainty that Cape Verde left this World Cup as winners. Few have made such a noise with so little, and Portuguese-speaking football gained a team to respect — and to love.
See also: Egypt, Argentina’s next opponent and Portugal’s nervy day. Match details on the FIFA site.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Effathéophile105 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
