MIAMI GARDENS — They came to the largest sporting event in the world, then became the biggest story of that event.
Just as the World Cup has been changed by the success of Cape Verde, the third-smallest country to ever qualify for the tournament, so to has the world changed for its players following their shocking 0-0 draw against tournament co-favorite Spain.
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“It’s been intense, everything around what happened after the game against Spain,” midfielder Garry Rodrigues said. “But as we are professionals, the game of Spain is in the past. What’s more important is tomorrow. We see everything on the internet, TV. It’s been intense, but we cannot use it as an excuse. We know our targets. We know our goals. It’s been good but we have to move on.”
They have moved on, bringing their underdog story to South Florida, where the road remains difficult. At 6 p.m. Sunday, June 21, Cape Verde, ranked 63rd in the world, takes on Uruguay, ranked 18th.
“We have shown that nothing is impossible,” said coach Pedro Leitao Brito, better known as Bubista. “But I think we have also shown underdogs can enjoy their matches and play against the big teams and get good results. We are at peace and we are 200 percent focused. Obviously we have a united team.”
Although the odds at the start of the World Cup were decidedly against it, Cape Verde is in the middle of a race to advance into the knockout stage. The Group H standings show all four teams with one point after all drew iin their openers. Spain remains favored to win the group, but second place is shaping up to be a battle among Uruguay, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
And yes, Cape Verde does have its sights on sticking around beyond the group stage.
“We are going to do everything possible to achieve our objective, which is to get qualification for the next round,” Bubista said.
A hot goalkeeper can work wonders for a team’s confidence. Cape Verde has that in Vozinha, the 40-year-old breakout sensation of the tournament. Vozinha made seven saves, many highlight-worthy, to end up with a clean sheet vs. the Spaniards. He instantly went from having about 50,000 Instagram followers to 14.6 million, largely on the strength of that performance but also because of what has become a heartwarming personal story (or as personal as a story can be with the world following).
A tearful Vozinha said after the Spain match how badly he wished his mother could be there. But Cape Verde is among the countries whose citizens must post a $15,000 refundable bond to assure they don’t overstay their visas, according to the Trump Administration. Vozinha said his family couldn’t come up with the money in time for his mother to be there, but a State Department official told CNN that the bond requirement was waived for players’ relatives.
Regardless, when her plight was revealed, the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. worked together to cut the red tape and help her arrive in Miami on June 19. She plans to attend the Uruguay match.
Speaking to reporters at the team’s training base in Tampa, Vozinha said, “For me, this is very important because all my family always supports me in everything. And to have her here, for me, it’s something special.”
Ana Candida Evora, Vozinha’s mother, was met at Miami International Airport by FIFA staffers and reporters.
“I want to wish him good luck and a good match,” she said.
Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, is a nation of about 525,000, compared to Uruguay’s 3.3 million.
“We should make sure we celebrate more than any other people for everything we have done,” Bubista said. “We are a small country but we have a big heart. We have resilience. The identity of our people is to be courageous people, to fight for hard things. We want to try to do the impossible.”
Never mind that they already have. They stopped Spain.
“I feel like here in the World Cup, we have a lot of support in the stadium,” Rodrigues said. “I could not hear the support from the fans from Spain.”
He added, “Nobody expected this, so it was for everyone a shock. We enjoyed the game. I was very proud of my team. We didn’t give them many chances. I think we deserved the draw.
“Of course you have to enjoy these moments, because they are not always in life.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Cup: Cape Verde arrives in Miami, aiming ‘to do the impossible’
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
