{"id":6499,"date":"2026-07-04T21:03:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6499"},"modified":"2026-07-04T21:03:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:03:58","slug":"conquered-heroes-for-cape-verde-a-world-cup-run-means-many-things-will-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6499","title":{"rendered":"Conquered heroes: For Cape Verde, a World Cup run means many things will change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By TIM REYNOLDS<\/p>\n

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Cape Verde\u2019s World Cup team walked into its Miami hotel after getting eliminated from the tournament, almost in disbelief at the scene in the lobby.<\/p>\n

Read more Morocco beats World Cup co-host Canada 3-0 and advances to the quarterfinals<\/a><\/p>\n

Dozens of people were there, cheering for them.<\/p>\n

After a loss, no less.<\/p>\n

Let that be the first sign of how things are going to be very different in many respects for the team, at least for the foreseeable future. Such is the case when a club goes from unheralded \u2014 and practically unheard of \u2014 to taking Lionel Messi and Argentina to the brink of elimination on soccer\u2019s biggest stage, before falling 3-2 in a match that went to extra time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to rest and think about the future,\u201d Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha said. \u201cBut I am very, very proud of the team\u2019s work, and I hope that in the future we can achieve great things.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, he hopes seeds were planted.<\/p>\n

Cape Verde went 0-1-3 in its four matches at its inaugural World Cup, which won\u2019t look great on paper. More than two-thirds of the 48 teams in this tournament won at least one game; Cape Verde wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But the record simply doesn\u2019t tell the whole story.<\/p>\n

It played Spain to a scoreless draw to open the group stage, making the chance of advancing to the knockout stage very real. There were two more ties in group play \u2014 a 2-2 tie against Uruguay that put Cape Verde on the brink of advancing, then a 0-0 tie against Saudi Arabia that was good enough to get the round of 32 trip secured.<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s players and coaches, to their credit, insisted they did not expect a cakewalk past Cape Verde. And when the match was over, Messi \u2014 generally considered to be the greatest player of all time \u2014 had nothing but compliments for the underdog opponent.<\/p>\n

Read more Fortes, Caminero hit HRs, Rays beat Astros 3-1 for 9th straight win<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSome people thought the match was going to be straightforward, but that couldn\u2019t have been further from reality,\u201d Messi said after Friday\u2019s match. \u201cThey pressed us really well. There are no handouts in knockout football. They\u2019d already performed well against Spain and Uruguay, so we knew it was going to be difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For Argentina, getting the win was indeed difficult.<\/p>\n

For Cape Verde, coming to grips that the ride ends here was also difficult.<\/p>\n

That said, when they walked through that hotel lobby, it was like the return of conquering heroes. Bubista, the team\u2019s coach, shook his fist in celebration. Many players couldn\u2019t stop smiling. Vozinha shook some hands and posed for a few photos.<\/p>\n

They were celebrities. Rock stars, almost. The score didn\u2019t matter. The totality of three weeks that put Cape Verde on soccer\u2019s map did matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can only thank our team for their effort and for showing so much heart on that pitch,\u201d Bubista said. \u201cAnd I think everyone should thank them for what they did for this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more All-Area track and field: Gateway\u2019s Maxwell Garcon is Sentinel Athlete of Year<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By TIM REYNOLDS MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Cape Verde\u2019s World Cup team walked into its Miami hotel after getting eliminated from the tournament, almost in disbelief at the scene in the lobby. Dozens of people were there, cheering for them. After a loss, no less. Let that be the first sign of how things [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nConquered heroes: For Cape Verde, a World Cup run means many things will change - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6499\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conquered heroes: For Cape Verde, a World Cup run means many things will change - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By TIM REYNOLDS MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. 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