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3 min readJul 5, 2026 11:14 PM IST
Cape Verde's Sidny Lopes Cabral (13) celebrates their second goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Argentina and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Thousands lined the undulating streets of Cape Verde to greet their titans of the World Cup upon arrival at capital Praia. The Blue Sharks flew in on Sunday, after losing narrowly 2-3 to mighty Argentina.
“It’s a very great moment for us to be here with our people,” the Wonderwall goalie Vozinha, donning cool Gucci big-glares told BBC as blue red striped flags fluttered all around. “We wanted something bigger but we didn’t go to the next stage. Now we just enjoy the moment and celebrate with our people,” he added.
They trooped back in white tee shirts with Cabo Verde engraved in bold font. Cape Verde held Spain and Uruguay to draws. The homecoming was coincidentally the same as their 51st Independence Day, liberating from Portugal.
The Cape Verde team and coaching staff have arrived back in Cape Verde. Look at the number of people waiting to welcome them home ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fltaUXibM1
— Cleverly 💐 (@Cleverlydey4u) July 5, 2026
Ranked 67th, they were massively praised for their clean defense and mighty hearts in the Argentina match, drawing level twice.
Bubista was quoted as saying “We showed that we may be a small country but we can play against the best in the world. That’s reason for pride. We made history.”
Airport ground staff at Nelson Mandela Praia International Airport celebrated by kneeling and bowing to Vozinha & Co. A white long open trailer was repurposed into a tableaux like a long moving stage with blue and red then took the team standing on a parade as drums beat without pause.
Legend Thierry Henry would say “Cabo Verde Obrigado. I don’t care about result. The story was, is and always will be Cabo Verde.”
Reflecting on the Cape Verdeans’ performance against the South American giants, Henry added, “How do you believe that you can do that? This is why I always say to people like, it reminds me, I know it’s not the same competition, Iceland. And what Iceland did at one point, and I know it was the Euro (first appearance in 2016, reaching quarterfinals) and I know it was against your beloved England, but it reminded me, sorry, that it does not matter the amount of people that you have, if you have that belief that you can achieve something, you can always do it.”
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