Cape Verde coach Bubista has challenged the team to “do the impossible” and follow up their shock draw against Spain to book a place in the World Cup round of 32.
The African nation made its debut by holding European champions Spain goalless in their opening match on Monday, not only delighting fans at home but also winning over neutrals around the world with their convincing performance.
The tough matches keep coming for the Cape Verdeans, with two-time world champions Uruguay next on Sunday night in Miami.
Their coach, Bubista, insisted before their second game that qualification from a tough-looking Group H was the aim.
“We are a small country and we showed that (against Spain). We have a big heart, we have resilience,” he told a news conference on Saturday.
“We are trying to show the identity of our people, which is to be courageous, to have unity and to fight hard for things, and we want to try to do the impossible.
“We know how good Uruguay is, but we are confident in our preparation, we are also confident in our players. We are going to do everything possible so that we can achieve the objective, which is to qualify for the next round.”
cape verde players gary rodrigues He said the draw against Spain was “surprising” for everyone, but added: “I’m very proud of our team, proud of the coach, proud of how we fought in this game.
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“We didn’t give them many chances and I think we deserved the draw, because the way we were defending and the way we were respecting our tactics was amazing.”
mother of cape verde goalkeeper sound Reached Miami in time for Sunday’s game.
The 40-year-old player expressed his sadness that his mother Ana Candia Evora was not present for the Spain game due to the cost of visas.
However, following the intervention of Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, the US State Department waived the fees and he is now in the United States for Cape Verde’s second match.