Cape Verde‘s magical start to its first World Cup isn’t over. It might just be getting started.
The tiny island nation that stunned tournament favorite Spain last week did it again against Uruguay on Sunday, coming from behind for a 2-2 draw.
Kevin Pina scored on a free kick for Cape Verde’s first-ever goal in the World Cup, and Hélio Varela scored the equalizer for what has become one of the most surprising teams of the expanded 48-team tournament — a squad that now has a legitimate chance of getting into the knockout stage.
“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams,” Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitão Brito said through an interpreter. “Teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament. We’re also here to show that a country may be small, may struggle financially, but if they are resilient, if they can endure struggle, they can also stand shoulder to shoulder with other major teams and with players who are on another level.”
The group of islands off Africa’s West coast have about 4,000 square meters (about 2.5 miles) of landmass and approximately a half million inhabitants, making Cape Verde the third-smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup.
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