 |
| Cape Verde national football team players greet supporters from a bus upon their arrival in Praia on July 5, 2026, after competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Jose Correia/AFP) |
Thousands of jubilant fans greeted Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks at Praia airport on Sunday, July 5, 2026, waving banners and cheering as the team returned after a narrow loss to Argentina in one of the World Cup’s most memorable upsets.
The squad will parade through the capital’s streets before meeting the president and other government officials of the island nation.
Cape Verde progressed to the knockout stages in their first World Cup, thrilling supporters back home and gaining fans abroad as they confounded expectations.
In an epic last-32 contest in Miami, Cape Verde pushed Argentina to the brink but the reigning world champions snatched a 3-2 win in extra time.
The team’s arrival back home coincided with Cape Verde’s independence day.
“After the heroes who fought for our independence, we now have these heroes - the Blue Sharks”, fan Edmilson Correia, 28, told AFP from the airport crowd.
Cape Verde head coach Bubista spoke to the press after landing.
“We demonstrated that our World Cup qualification wasn’t down to luck. We showed hard work and resilience, and we left the United States with our heads held high”, he said.
 |
| Cape Verde supporters celebrate in Praia on July 5, 2026, as the national football team returns home following its participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Jose Correia/AFP) |
Supporters dressed in the team blue strained to catch a glimpse of their heroes such as Sidny Lopes Cabral and Vozinha.
Twelve-year-old Ivan Goncalves said he was on the lookout for Cabral in particular because of his “fabulous goal against Argentina”.
Minister of Culture and Sports Antonio Duarte commended the Blue Sharks and their coach for “cementing Cape Verde’s status as a great nation”.
Despite the team’s loss to Argentina, celebrations erupted in Praia in the early hours of Saturday morning, as fans commemorated the fairytale journey and slim defeat against the world champions.
Cape Verde, a nation of just 500,000 people, on Sunday marked its 51st anniversary of independence from Portugal, which ruled-~ the country for 500 years.
~AFP
0 comments:
Post a Comment