Cape Verde have become the smallest-ever country to qualify for the knockouts after their 0-0 against Saudi Arabia in their FIFA World Cup 2026 match on Friday.
Updated: June 27, 2026, 10:38 AM IST
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Cape Verde celebrate after qualifying for Round of 32 in FIFA World Cup 2026. (Source: X)
Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H: Cape Verde continued their fairytale run in the FIFA World Cup 2026 with their third successive draw against Saudi Arabia, match ending at 0-0 in their Group H encounter at the NRG Stadium in Houston on Friday to book their place in the Round of 32. As a result, Cape Verde became the smallest-ever nation in the history of the World Cup to qualify for the knockout of the premier football tournament.
The small island nation which is situated just off the western coast of Africa, are making their debut World Cup, already held 2010 champion Spain to a 0-0 draw and then came from behind to get a 2-2 result against Uruguay.
Cape Verde’s three points put the team in second place behind Spain in Group H, which beat Uruguay on Friday night and topped the table. Cape Verde will play reigning World Cup champion Argentina with Lionel in Miami on Friday.
They also became the first team in the last 28 years to progress to the knockouts after three drawn matches. Wales were the first team to achieve this feat in 1958, Ireland and the Netherlands in 1990 and finally Chile in 1998. New Zealand, however, also got three draws at the 2010 World Cup and were eliminated.
The ‘Blue Sharks’ overcame seemingly insurmountable odds as this country of just more than 500,000 reached the round of 32. The dram result from Cape Verde came on the back of another strong show from Vozinha, their 40-year-old goalkeeper, who had gained over 16 million followers on Instagram thanks to his success in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Vozinha had a save in first half stoppage time, grabbing a header from Mohamed Kanno to keep Saudi Arabia scoreless. He came up with another brilliant save came in the 66th minute when he leaped to deflect a shot from Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat.
The veteran keeper came up with another match-saving effort in the 92nd minute when he stopped a shot by Abdullah Al-Hamdan. Vozinha had his mother Ana Candida Evora cheering him on from a luxury suite, waving a tiny Cape Verde flag. It was her second match of the tournament after missing Vozinha’s epic seven-save show against Spain in the tournament opener due to US visa issues.
Cape Verde had a chance to score in the 50th minute, but Kevin Pina’s shot from distance went just over the crossbar.
