Fans in Cape Verde party into the night after historic World Cup debut

In the capital, Praia, fans crowded watch parties and major roads, singing and dancing as they celebrated what many thought had been unimaginable against Spain, heavily favored to win the game and a fair bet for the whole tournament.

Tears ran down faces as people hugged each other tightly and climbed poles to catch a glimpse of the spectacle across the city.

“I didn’t expect us to be holding our own in such a highly contested and difficult match,” William Gomes, a fan in Praia, said of their debut Monday. “Thanks to Vozinha’s performance, who is, for now, one of the best players on our team,” he said of their veteran goalkeeper.

While Cape Verde didn’t win, its performance shocked many across the world and rebuked some of the criticisms that the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 this year would weaken the tournament with less interesting fixtures.

The group of islands off Africa’s West coast with about 500,000 inhabitants is the third-smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the World Cup.

“Cape Verde is only a small country, but today it feels great and important. I don’t even have enough words to express what we’re feeling. We Cape Verdeans are truly blessed,” said Vladimir Garcia, a resident in Praia.

Ahead of the fixture, the government of Cape Verde declared a half-day off on Monday to enable people to support the national team.

“If today, 50 years later, we are at the World Cup, we have already proven that we are a viable nation,” Cape Verde’s President José Maria Neves said on social media, referring to when the country gained its independence from Portugal.

“More than celebrating the past, we must reimagine the future and believe that it is possible to build, in all areas of our lives, over the next 50 years, a modern, prosperous country with opportunities for all,” he added.