Cape Verde continue to surprise with another World Cup shock

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Cape Verde surprised onlookers when they beat Eswatini 3-0 in October to become one of the smallest nations ever to reach the World Cup. They pulled off a shock of a different order last week when they drew 0-0 with the European champions Spain, ranked 65 places above them. Last night they repeated their heroics, with a 2-2 draw against Uruguay, who reached the quarter-finals in 2018 and semi-finals in 2010. If Cape Verde finish second in their group, as they may well do, they are likely to face the holders Argentina in the last 32. There were concerns that the tournament’s expanded format would lead to an excess of lopsided results. But Cape Verde’s active recruitment of players from its diaspora, including through LinkedIn, is paying dividends.