Cape Verde have become the smallest country to earn a spot in the knockout round of the World Cup after a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia.
The tiny island nation off the west coast of Africa, making their debut on soccer’s grandest stage, qualified on Friday with a third straight World Cup draw.
They had already held 2010 champions Spain to a 0-0 draw and then came from behind to get a 2-2 result against Uruguay.
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The win put the team into second place behind Spain, who beat Uruguay 1-0 to win the group.
The Cape Verdeans will now meet reigning World Cup champions Argentina in Miami on July 3.
On the eve of the match, Cape Verde coach Bubista mused, “everyone is entitled to dream and nothing is impossible.”
The Blue Sharks proved him right, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds as this country of just more than 500,000 reached the round of 32.
A woman, her face painted with a flag of the archipelago, held a sign that read: “Small Islands, Big Dreams.”
A dream that these underdogs have made reality as they continue their charmed run on the world stage.
They did it with another strong game from Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper whose tournament success has helped him amass more than 16 million Instagram followers.
He made a save in first-half stoppage time, grabbing a header from Mohamed Kanno to keep Saudi Arabia scoreless. He then produced another in the 66th minute when he leaped to deflect a shot from Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat.
In the 92nd minute, Vozinha stopped a shot by Abdullah Al-Hamdan. A group of shirtless men in the crowd each painted one letter of his name on their chests as they cheered Cape Verde.
But Vozinha had a much bigger fan among the crowd of 68,278 as his mother Ana Candida Evora watched from a luxury suite, waving a tiny Cape Verde flag. It was her second match of the tournament after missing Vozinha’s epic seven-save performance against Spain because of visa issues.
Cape Verde had a chance to score in the 50th minute, but Kevin Pina’s shot from distance soared above the crossbar. Another chance came in the 74th minute when Laros Duarte’s shot from the middle of the box was stopped by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais.
A last chance to score came in the final seconds when Nuno da Costa sent a shot from the middle of the box wide left.
But it didn’t matter because a couple of minutes after the final whistle, Spain completed their victory over Uruguay to set off a joyous celebration among Cape Verde’s players and fans.
Spain send divided two-time world champions packing
Spain have defeated Uruguay 1-0 after another goalkeeping mistake by Fernando Muslera to advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup and eliminate the South American powerhouse.
Two-time champions Uruguay will go home without any victories in their three Group H games. Spain, the European champions, won the group with seven points and will face the second-placed team from Group J — either Austria or Algeria — on Thursday in Inglewood, California.
Alex Baena scored in the 42nd minute on on Friday (Saturday AEST) after Muslera couldn’t fully swat away his shot from inside the area. It was the third blunder of the tournament by the 40-year-old Muslera, who was pulled at halftime by coach Marcelo Bielsa.
At 19th in the FIFA rankings, Uruguay are the highest-ranked team to be eliminated so far.
Cape Verde, who drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in the other group game, finished second with three points, one more than both Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Uruguay finished third but without enough points to be among the best eight third-placed teams that will advance.
The match was one of the most anticipated of the group stage, but it featured few significant scoring chances by either team.
Uruguay players loudly advocated for a penalty in the final minutes after Federico Vinas went down inside the area.
There was some tension near the end. Uruguay’s Agustin Canobbio was sent off in added time for a tackle on Spain defender Paul Cubarsi.
Uruguay, World Cup winners in 1930 and 1950, came into the final group match in turmoil after draws against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Uruguayan media said there were reports of players not being happy with veteran Argentine coach Bielsa.
Spain, seeking their second World Cup title, opened with a shocking 0-0 draw against Cape Verde but were coming off a 4-0 win over the Saudis. La Roja haven’t made it past the round of 16 since winning their lone title in 2010.
Spain striker Lamine Yamal, who entered the tournament nursing a left hamstring injury, had a lackluster outing and was replaced by Ferran Torres in the 76th minute. The 18-year-old Yamal was replaced at halftime against Saudi Arabia and came off the bench in the second half against Cape Verde.
King Felipe VI of Spain was among the crowd of 45,065 at Estadio Akron.
A moment of silence was observed before the match in memory of those who died when back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday.
