Those people who hadn’t previously heard of Cape Verde, or didn’t know where it was, will surely know now. A stunning result for Cape Verde’s ‘Blue Sharks’ (‘Tubarões Azuis’) in their first ever World Cup game. They were up against Spain, who have been tipped to win the cup, but they were held to a 0-0 draw. What an exciting match it was! It is reported that considerable bets had been placed on Spain to win the match. So there will be people wondering what happened. It has been described as one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. Spain had 21 shots at goal, but were unable to get one into the back of the net. There will surely be a lot of sore, but happy heads in Cape Verde after the match.
Cape Verde virtually came to a standstill while all the attention was focused on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (now known as the Atlanta Stadium). This stadium holds over 67,000 people. Nobody in the stadium or watching on television expected the Blue Sharks to hold their own against Spain. Their goal keeper, Vozinha, has become an international sensation. He made serval brilliant saves including one in the 36th and another in the 38th minute. Over night the 40 year old acquired five million social media followers according to reports. Walter, an 11 year old lad in the UK and a fan of Cape Verde, nominated Vozinha as his man of the match. This was also confirmed officially. Roberto Lopes (known as Pico) was born in Ireland and normally plays for Shamrock Rovers. But his father is Cape Verdean and so Pico is also able to play for the Blue Sharks.
The Cape Verde team comprised:
Goal keeper – Vozinha
Defenders -Borges, Lopes, S Cabral and Moreira;
Midfield – Pina and Duarte;
Attack – J Cabral, Monteiro, Mendes and Livramento.
Coach – Pedro Leitão Brito
It is thought that not many Cape Verdeans would have been able to travel to America. The costs were high and there were US visa restrictions. However, the sizeable diaspora in Massachusetts did their team and country proud with their enthusiasm and singing in the stadium. With them was the President of Cape Verde José Maria Pereira Neves. It’s also understood that neutral fans were also supporting Cape Verde. Meanwhile, in Cape Verde the streets on the nine inhabited islands were quiet, apart from those locations where there was a large screen.
Cape Verde has a population of approximately 500,000, compared to almost 50 million in Spain. Spain is ranked number 2 in the world and Cape Verde is 67th. A real David and Goliath battle. Could it be that the team from this small country in middle of the Atlantic could go further than anyone had dare to predict? Cape Verde’s next match is against Uruguay on Sunday 21 June.
