Cape Verde Spark Wild Celebrations Following Historic Houston Feat, Video Goes Viral

Last Updated:June 27, 2026, 10:45 IST

Cape Verde makes historic FIFA World Cup knockouts as smallest country by population, drawing Saudi Arabia.

The Cape Verde footballers and supporters were all equally emotional as the island nation became the smallest country in terms of population to qualify for the knockouts of the FIFA World Cup, after they drew against Saudi Arabia and Uruguay lost to Spain.

Cape Verde’s third successive draw meant they finished the group with three points, behind European champions Spain, who bagged top spot with a 1-0 victory over Uruguay.

Two-time FIFA World Cup winners Uruguay, who were held to a shock 2-2 draw by Cape Verde last Sunday in their second game, were eliminated from the competition after finishing with just two points.

After the 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia, the Cape Verde footballers broke into joyous celebrations. Watch the video here:

The footballers of Cape Verde, the third-smallest team in FIFA World Cup history by population, were in tears afterwards, as were some of their fans.

The team waited an agonising minute or two before news of the Spain victory over Uruguay filtered through on a mobile phone, then erupted in celebration.

“I am 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 game into the early hours of the morning.

“We had this in our minds and heads that we could get to this stage. We felt the team was very eager to show this to the whole world. We are proud to get to this stage and again have shown the world that we are a small country, but we fight for what we want," coach Bubista said.

News sports football Cape Verde Spark Wild Celebrations Following Historic Houston Feat, Video Goes Viral

Read More