EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsHOUSTON -- It's a wonder of soccer that a 0-0 draw between teams ranked 59th and 64th in the FIFA world rankings could set off celebrations not only inside NRG Stadium (and a big drum party in a strip mall across the street) but also in Massachusetts, Rotterdam and a small island nation off the coast of West Africa.The celebrations were for Cape Verde, who became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup knockout rounds Friday night. Their 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia clinched second place in Group H, ahead of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia; what started as a fun story with their 0-0 draw against Spain -- a result that made 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha an overnight sensation -- will continue with an elimination match against Lionel Messi and Argentina."I don't think any of us dreamed of this," Vozinha said after Friday's match. "But we know we have a lot of quality. Qualifying for the next round today is extremely rewarding for us. It's a dream for any player to play against Argentina and against Messi."After their match ended, Cape Verde's players huddled around a phone to make sure Spain saw off their 1-0 win over Uruguay. "I almost wanted to cry," midfielder Deroy Duarte said. "It was so emotional. Everybody was just waiting and praying and hoping that the result was good. It was a very special moment. [Something] I've never felt on the pitch. And I hope we can feel the same feeling in the next game." An underdog's underdogA country with the population of Fresno, California [around 530,000], Cape Verde is a true underdog's underdog: The players on their 26-man roster were employed by 26 different club teams in 14 different countries last season. Seven played in Portugal, which makes sense since the country was a Portuguese colony until 1975, and the country's official language remains Portuguese.Of the 2,970 total minutes their players have recorded in the World Cup, only 256 were played by guys employed by one of the top 100 clubs in the world (per Opta): 166 from left back Sidny Cabral (Benfica) and 90 from left winger Willy Semedo (Omonia Nicosia).Vozinha is a free agent after playing in the Portuguese second division last year, and Duarte, Friday's man of the match, plays for Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria. Other key contributors play in the UAE (Al Bataeh's Diney), Ireland (Shamrock Rovers' Pico), Turkey (Idgir's Ryan Mendes), Netherlands (PEC Zwolle's Jamiro Monteiro) and Israel (Maccabi Tel Aviv's Hlio Varela).Cape Verde won its independence from Portugal in 1975 and didn't join FIFA until 1986. But the quality of the national team has steadily improved for most of 20 years, and while a number of players on the roster weren't born in the country, there is also pride in the diaspora."We love our country," Vozinha said. "We have a lot of passion. We grew up facing many hardships. Our parents and grandparents sacrificed a great deal so that we could be educated. And we learned how to value things. I think we've shown the resilience of the Cape Verdean people."Duarte added: "Obviously, we also have Cape Verdeans outside of the country, but we're a small country, small population, but we have a big heart."The Blue Sharks advanced with draws in three straight matches, but each result was a different type of achievement. The draw with Spain was a test of fortitude -- Spain attempted 27 shots, but Cape Verde blocked eight of them, and Vozinha saved another seven. The post helped, too, on an effort from Ferran Torres late in the first half, but that was the only shot Spain attempted that was worth over 0.2 xG. Cape Verde kept the box clean without fouling and held on for an historic result.The 2-2 draw with Uruguay, on the other hand, was a test of resilience. Cape Verde took an early lead, but when Maxi Arajo tied things up, their body language plummeted. It seemed guaranteed that they would allow another goal, and they did exactly that just before halftime. Saved by the halftime whistle, however, they rebounded. They tied the score with Helio Varela's fast-break goal in the 61st minute, and for the half they attempted 10 shots (0.83 xG) and allowed just six (0.41). If someone was going to find a winner in that game, it looked far more likely to be Cape Verde.The deciding 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia tested their nerves. When Spain took the lead on Uruguay late in the first half -- therefore moving Cape Verde into second place in Group H -- the score was announced inside the stadium. And almost immediately, Saudi Arabia put together a string of threats. If they had scored, they would have taken second place instead. But Cape Verde held out until halftime and put together an excellent second-half performance, nearly scoring on a couple of different late counterattacks. Saudi Arabia never showed the urgency the moment required, but Abdullah Al Hamddan did put a solid shot on target in the second minute of stoppage time. Regardless, the draw stood, and Cape Verde advanced."We didn't come here just to hold onto a draw," Vozinha said afterward. "In the second half, from the moment we came back onto the field, we always tried to win the match. We knew it wouldn't be easy, [as] Saudi Arabia is also a team with a lot of quality. We tried everything to score, but we couldn't."Regardless, they held their nerve.The wonder of an expanded World CupYou can be as cynical as you want about why FIFA chose to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams. It's been an all-time heist from a financial perspective. But that's always been the trade-off with FIFA and the game of soccer. It's like a pact: It gets to be as shameless as it wants in the hunt for more and more money, but it also agrees to share the game (and the riches) with more and more countries. Meanwhile, we get an endless string of new characters to learn about and new stories to devour. Whatever FIFA does, it still can't ruin the game itself.World Cup expansion was meant for a country such as Cape Verde, who has been on the cusp of Africa's top tier for quite a while. They finished second in their group to Cameroon in 2010 World Cup qualification, second to Tunisia in 2014 and second to Nigeria in 2022.They've reached the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations three times in 13 years, too. Africa had five bids to divvy out for a 32-team World Cup, but that nearly doubled, to nine, when expansion came. Granted, Cape Verde were so good in qualification (23 points in 10 matches) that they might have qualified with just five bids this time. But expansion offered opportunities to the Cape Verdes, Curaaos and Jordans of the world, and they all created memorable moments. They inspired others, too."Everything that's happened is very rewarding," Vozinha said. "We're here to create memories and role models for the younger generation. And who knows? From now on, we'll have Cape Verdean role models, Cape Verdean footballers that children can look at and say, 'One day I want to be like [defender] Stopira, like [midfielder] Ryan Mendes, or like other Cape Verde players.' That's incredibly rewarding."Are the stakes lower for a lot of these group stage matches now that we're letting in more teams? Has there been less jeopardy in the group stage because 32 of 48 teams advance to the knockouts? Absolutely.But the world knows about Cape Verde now, too. It knows about Curaao. (The pride of even a scoreless Curaao draw with Ecuador was incredible to witness. A couple of journalists in the press box pounded the tables at the final whistle, yelling, "Curaao! Curaao! Smallest nation in the world!") The world knows something else about Congo DR beyond war or Ebola. This event connects the world and makes it smaller and prouder. It reminds us that everyone everywhere cares about the same things we care about. You can abhor FIFA and still admit that."We've seen [in] the other games also against Uruguay and Spain, that we received a lot of support from different people from different countries," Duarte said. "It's just what football brings. Football brings people close to each other. And I think this is also something Cape Verdean: We like to receive people, we like to act like they are ours. This is typical Cape Verdean, and that makes us proud."The big nations win the World Cup, but the small nations make it. France or Spain or England or Argentina will probably take this thing home, but the celebrations from Ecuador, Congo DR and, of course, Cape Verde, have defined it thus far. We're richer for having them there. Cape Verde's run will likely end at the feet of Messi and Argentina next week, but hey, you never know, right?"Obviously, this is a special moment, special game," Duarte said. "But still, the ball is round, [and] you can see [that] when we played against Spain, Uruguay, we draw. So why not?"The joy that came out is something I've never felt before on the pitch. I hope to feel it again against Argentina."
