[Saba Sports News] In the final group-stage match held in Houston, Cape Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia. The island nation off the west coast of Africa has made history as the country with the smallest population to reach the knockout stage in men’s FIFA World Cup history. Cape Verde’s total national population stands at just 525,000, fewer than all 50 U.S. states. The U.S. state with the closest population is Wyoming, home to 576,000 residents. Previously, only two nations with smaller populations had qualified for the World Cup finals — Curaçao and Iceland — yet both were eliminated at the group stage in 2026 and 2018 respectively, while Cape Verde has advanced further this time around. Cape Verde is the first debutant side to remain undefeated across all three group matches at a World Cup since Senegal in 2002. This World Cup newcomer pulled off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets: they held pre-tournament title favourites Spain to a draw in the opening fixture, before battling Uruguay to a 2-2 draw in their second match, scoring the country’s first-ever goals at a World Cup finals.
The editor believes that in the knockout round of the 32-team World Cup, Cape Verde will take on defending champions Argentina in Miami Gardens, Florida on July 3, with a massive test lying ahead of them.