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There has been something different about this World Cup.
Maybe it is the goals. Maybe it is the unpredictability. Or maybe it is the way this tournament has belonged as much to the emerging nations as it has to football’s established powers.
Before the tournament began, there was no shortage of skepticism. Concerns were raised over attendances, and many wondered whether the competition could maintain the atmosphere and intensity of previous editions. Those fears have largely proved unfounded. Across the host cities, stadiums have filled up, supporters have turned out in numbers, and the tournament has rarely lacked energy.
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The group stage reflected that. There were 210 goals in 72 matches, an average of 2.92 per game. There were dramatic late winners, unexpected results, remarkable comebacks and moments of quality that have already become part of this tournament’s story.
Now comes the stage where every World Cup takes on a different weight.
The knockout rounds are here.
The Round of 32 got underway yesterday, with South Africa facing co-hosts Canada, marking the beginning of the part of the tournament where there are no second chances.
Nine of Africa’s representatives progressed beyond the group stage, the highest qualification rate of any confederation at this World Cup, according to Opta. It is another indication of how steadily the gap between African football and the game’s traditional powers continues to close. Morocco’s run to the semi-finals in Qatar 2022 felt like a statement. Four years on, it increasingly looks like the beginning of something bigger.
Some of those teams were expected to qualify.
Others have become among the stories of the tournament.
Cape Verde, making their first appearance at a World Cup, belong firmly in that category.
When they were drawn into Group H alongside Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, few gave them much of a chance. Spain arrived as one of Europe’s most technically gifted sides. Uruguay brought the pedigree of two World Cup titles and a squad packed with elite-level experience. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, continued to build on the momentum created by their famous victory over Argentina in 2022.
Cape Verde were expected to make up the numbers.
Instead, they refused to follow the script.
A disciplined goalless draw against Spain immediately changed the conversation. They followed it with an entertaining 2-2 draw against Uruguay, showing they could compete with opponents carrying far greater pedigree. Another hard-earned draw against Saudi Arabia secured second place in Group H and, with it, a place in the knockout rounds.
Who would have imagined Cape Verde finishing second in a group like that?
For many nations, reaching the Round of 32 would simply be another checkpoint.
For Cape Verde, it is history.
This is a country of just over half a million people, spread across a chain of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, with a football infrastructure that cannot compare to the game’s global powers. There are clubs around the world with larger fanbases than Cape Verde’s entire population. Yet they find themselves here.
Cape Verde have already given this tournament one of those memories.
The challenge now becomes even greater.
Cape Verde’s reward for everything they have achieved is, in many ways, the toughest test imaginable.
Argentina awaits them in the Round of 32.
Nobody in the Cape Verde camp will be under any illusion about the size of the task. Argentina are among the favourites to win the tournament, boasting the experience, depth and individual quality that define football’s elite.
But Cape Verde have already shown they belong on this stage.
Their group stage results should give them belief rather than fear. They will still enter the tie as underdogs, but they have earned the right to think they can compete.
There is every chance their World Cup ends here. Argentina may simply prove too strong, as many expect.
If that happens, there will be no shame in it.
The gap in experience, resources and pedigree between the two nations remains significant.
When this World Cup is remembered, many will recall the goals, the drama and the teams that challenged for the trophy.
Cape Verde deserves to be remembered too.
They arrived with little expectation and left having won the admiration of football supporters across the world.
They were not expected to escape a group containing Spain and Uruguay.
They did.
They were not expected to reach the knockout rounds.
They did.
Whatever happens against Argentina, that achievement cannot be taken away.
Whenever the final whistle blows, it may bring an end to Cape Verde’s World Cup.
It will not be the end of their story. Long after the 2026 FIFA World Cup has crowned its champions, Cape Verde’s journey should remain one of the tournament’s lasting memories, a reminder that football’s biggest stage still has room for countries willing to believe, regardless of the odds.
