WORLD CUP DEBUTANTS World Cup debutants Cape Verde will face reigning champions Argentina in the knockout rounds after drawing 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to extend their fairytale journey.
The stalemate in Houston and Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay meant the team ranked 67 in the world finished runners-up behind Spain in Group H.
Having drawn all three group matches, the archipelago nation of just over 500,000 will play Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami on 3 July in another chapter to their remarkable story.
“Absolutely buzzing,” Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes told his club manager, Stephen Bradley of Shamrock Rovers, on a video call live on RTÉ.
Pico Lopes answers the call from his club manager Stephen Bradley after a historic night for Cape Verde
The players of Cape Verde – the third-smallest team in World Cup history by population – were in tears afterwards, as were some of their fans.
The squad waited an agonising minute or two before news of the Spain win filtered through on a mobile phone, then erupted in celebration.
Full-Time: 🇨🇻 0-0 🇸🇦
How can you not be romantic about football
Cape Verde are through and Roberto Lopes becomes the first ever player contracted to a League of Ireland club to reach the knockout rounds of the World Cup
“I’m living in a dream to be honest,” midfielder Deroy Duarte told broadcasters.
The joyous scenes were replicated in Cape Verde’s capital Praia, where people had watched the big match into the early hours of the morning.
“We had this in our minds and heads that we could get to this stage,” said Cape Verde’s coach Bubista, who goes by one name and came to the press conference wrapped in his country’s flag.
“We felt the team was very eager to show this to the whole world. To us, nothing is impossible.”
Roberto Lopes of Cape Verde celebrates after qualifying for the knockout stage. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Spain, held 0-0 by Cape Verde in the first round of games, finished with seven points, with the debutants on three and Uruguay and Saudi Arabia both on the way home on two.
Spain face the team that comes second in Group J, which will be either Algeria or Austria.
- History-makers -
With history beckoning, Bubista changed half his starting side, some of it enforced, but retained his hero goalkeeper Vozinha and centre-back Lopes.
🇨🇻 0-0 🇸🇦
Pico Lopes involved at both ends of the pitch in quick succession as he wins the ball back to set up a golden chance on the counter attack before heading over from the resulting corner
Cape Verde had slightly the better of the first half in Houston against a Saudi side who drew 1-1 with Uruguay before being thrashed 4-0 by Spain.
The Saudis suffered a blow in the 33rd minute when experienced defender Hassan al-Tambakti was stretchered off injured.
Spain took the lead towards the end of the first half in Mexico, the news greeted by cheers by Cape Verde fans in Houston.
Willy Semedo fired not too far wide of the Saudi post but neither side seriously threatened in a tense first half.
At that point, Cape Verde were going through at Uruguay’s expense.
Three minutes after the break Jamiro Monteiro had a major chance from close range but his finish was weak, then Kevin Pina had an effort from distance that whistled just off target.
🇨🇻 0-0 🇸🇦
Kevin Pina unleashes one from distance and almost scores a screamer but it just fly's past the upright
The tension went up a notch as they entered the final quarter, but Saudi Arabia were strangely lacking in invention even though they were chasing the game.
In the 75th minute, goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais kept them in it with a vital stop from Laros Duarte.
A point was enough for Cape Verde, but if anything, they were the more likely to score as the match ticked into the dying minutes.
Spain-Uruguay
Meanwhile, Uruguay bowed out of the World Cup as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s howler gifted Spain a 1-0 win in Guadalajara to secure top spot in Group H.
Alex Baena’s weak shot slipped through Muslera’s grasp for the only goal as Spain avoided a last-32 showdown against Argentina.
🇺🇾 0-1 🇪🇸
Fernando Muslera won't want to see that one again as Alex Baena swivels and swings a shot that he cannot control to give Spain the lead
Two-time winners Uruguay become the highest ranked side to crash out in the group stages as the defeat rounded off a miserable tournament for Marcelo Bielsa and his squad.
After draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, reports of a revolt in the Uruguay camp emerged with leading players, including Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, clashing with Bielsa over his tactics.
Bielsa controversially substituted Valverde on the hour mark and said the decision to replace Muslera at half-time had been taken by the player himself.
“Journalists and fans of Uruguayan football legitimately want to pin the blame on me. I’m the person responsible and I have to accept it,” said Bielsa.
The only clash between two former winners of the World Cup in the group stages was a huge disappointment.
Another laboured attacking performance leaves Luis de la Fuente with plenty to ponder before the knockout stages begin on Sunday.
- Spain’s injury concerns -
To add to Spain’s concerns a shoulder injury suffered by Yeremy Pino may have ended his tournament, while Nico Williams also ended a bruising encounter with a muscle problem.
“In football, you can’t always play with the brilliance you wish for, or that we are capable of showing at other times,” said De la Fuente.
“We maintained an incredibly high level of concentration, responsibility, and composure, and we avoided rising to the many provocations that could have led to serious trouble.”
A hero of Uruguay’s run to the semi-finals in 2010, Muslera was at fault for both Cape Verde’s goals in a 2-2 draw.
And in Guadalajara, Spain had barely threatened the Uruguay goal before the 40-year-old allowed Baena’s shot to dribble over the line from Marcos Llorente’s cross on 42 minutes.
Muslera was replaced at half-time by Sergio Rochet and the Uruguay boss made an even bolder call when Valverde was taken off on the hour mark.
Yamal was replaced 15 minutes from time as his minutes continue to be managed after a hamstring injury ended his club season prematurely.
His replacement Ferran Torres should have doubled the lead five minutes from time but hit the bar with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Uruguay’s miserable tournament was summed up when Agustin Canobbio was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Pau Cubarsi.
Hyped as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain are now 34 competitive games unbeaten and are yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
But in stark contrast to some of the scintillating attacking play on show from the likes of France, Argentina and the Netherlands, La Roja are yet to convince in their quest for a second World Cup triumph.
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'Absolutely buzzing': Lopes guides Cape Verde through to last-32 clash with Messi and Argentina
Results – World Cup Group H
WORLD CUP DEBUTANTS World Cup debutants Cape Verde will face reigning champions Argentina in the knockout rounds after drawing 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to extend their fairytale journey.
The stalemate in Houston and Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay meant the team ranked 67 in the world finished runners-up behind Spain in Group H.
Having drawn all three group matches, the archipelago nation of just over 500,000 will play Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami on 3 July in another chapter to their remarkable story.
“Absolutely buzzing,” Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes told his club manager, Stephen Bradley of Shamrock Rovers, on a video call live on RTÉ.
The players of Cape Verde – the third-smallest team in World Cup history by population – were in tears afterwards, as were some of their fans.
The squad waited an agonising minute or two before news of the Spain win filtered through on a mobile phone, then erupted in celebration.
“I’m living in a dream to be honest,” midfielder Deroy Duarte told broadcasters.
The joyous scenes were replicated in Cape Verde’s capital Praia, where people had watched the big match into the early hours of the morning.
“We had this in our minds and heads that we could get to this stage,” said Cape Verde’s coach Bubista, who goes by one name and came to the press conference wrapped in his country’s flag.
“We felt the team was very eager to show this to the whole world. To us, nothing is impossible.”
Spain, held 0-0 by Cape Verde in the first round of games, finished with seven points, with the debutants on three and Uruguay and Saudi Arabia both on the way home on two.
Spain face the team that comes second in Group J, which will be either Algeria or Austria.
- History-makers -
With history beckoning, Bubista changed half his starting side, some of it enforced, but retained his hero goalkeeper Vozinha and centre-back Lopes.
Cape Verde had slightly the better of the first half in Houston against a Saudi side who drew 1-1 with Uruguay before being thrashed 4-0 by Spain.
The Saudis suffered a blow in the 33rd minute when experienced defender Hassan al-Tambakti was stretchered off injured.
Spain took the lead towards the end of the first half in Mexico, the news greeted by cheers by Cape Verde fans in Houston.
Willy Semedo fired not too far wide of the Saudi post but neither side seriously threatened in a tense first half.
At that point, Cape Verde were going through at Uruguay’s expense.
Three minutes after the break Jamiro Monteiro had a major chance from close range but his finish was weak, then Kevin Pina had an effort from distance that whistled just off target.
The tension went up a notch as they entered the final quarter, but Saudi Arabia were strangely lacking in invention even though they were chasing the game.
In the 75th minute, goalkeeper Mohammed al-Owais kept them in it with a vital stop from Laros Duarte.
A point was enough for Cape Verde, but if anything, they were the more likely to score as the match ticked into the dying minutes.
Spain-Uruguay
Meanwhile, Uruguay bowed out of the World Cup as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s howler gifted Spain a 1-0 win in Guadalajara to secure top spot in Group H.
Alex Baena’s weak shot slipped through Muslera’s grasp for the only goal as Spain avoided a last-32 showdown against Argentina.
Two-time winners Uruguay become the highest ranked side to crash out in the group stages as the defeat rounded off a miserable tournament for Marcelo Bielsa and his squad.
After draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, reports of a revolt in the Uruguay camp emerged with leading players, including Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, clashing with Bielsa over his tactics.
Bielsa controversially substituted Valverde on the hour mark and said the decision to replace Muslera at half-time had been taken by the player himself.
“Journalists and fans of Uruguayan football legitimately want to pin the blame on me. I’m the person responsible and I have to accept it,” said Bielsa.
The only clash between two former winners of the World Cup in the group stages was a huge disappointment.
Another laboured attacking performance leaves Luis de la Fuente with plenty to ponder before the knockout stages begin on Sunday.
- Spain’s injury concerns -
To add to Spain’s concerns a shoulder injury suffered by Yeremy Pino may have ended his tournament, while Nico Williams also ended a bruising encounter with a muscle problem.
“In football, you can’t always play with the brilliance you wish for, or that we are capable of showing at other times,” said De la Fuente.
“We maintained an incredibly high level of concentration, responsibility, and composure, and we avoided rising to the many provocations that could have led to serious trouble.”
A hero of Uruguay’s run to the semi-finals in 2010, Muslera was at fault for both Cape Verde’s goals in a 2-2 draw.
And in Guadalajara, Spain had barely threatened the Uruguay goal before the 40-year-old allowed Baena’s shot to dribble over the line from Marcos Llorente’s cross on 42 minutes.
Muslera was replaced at half-time by Sergio Rochet and the Uruguay boss made an even bolder call when Valverde was taken off on the hour mark.
Yamal was replaced 15 minutes from time as his minutes continue to be managed after a hamstring injury ended his club season prematurely.
His replacement Ferran Torres should have doubled the lead five minutes from time but hit the bar with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Uruguay’s miserable tournament was summed up when Agustin Canobbio was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Pau Cubarsi.
Hyped as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain are now 34 competitive games unbeaten and are yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
But in stark contrast to some of the scintillating attacking play on show from the likes of France, Argentina and the Netherlands, La Roja are yet to convince in their quest for a second World Cup triumph.
– © AFP 2026
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