Tiny Cape Verde steal the show against Argentina in a performance to last in World Cup lore

It was a sight we’d seen hundreds of times before, six times previously in this World Cup alone. Lionel Messi celebrating a goal, sprinting away with his arms outstretched in celebration. Against Cape Verde on Friday, Messi used a breathtaking first touch and deft, close-range finish to score Argentina’s opening goal and take the lead, one few in attendance thought they would relinquish.

Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha, was left crumpled on one knee, his World Cup dream slipping away. The 40-year-old had become a sensation after playing brilliantly to shut out the European champions, Spain, in Cape Verde’s tournament opener. Vozinha, who plays his football in the Portuguese second division, made $53,000 last year. Messi made more than that for every five minutes he was on the field with Inter Miami last year.

And yet Messi’s magic would not be the main story on Friday night, not by a long shot. Even as the eventual losers, tiny Cape Verde would steal the show, coming within a stone’s throw of pulling off far and away the greatest upset not just in World Cup history, but one of the biggest across all sports. Their 3-2 defeat is to this point the match of the tournament, bar none.

“I feel proud to have competed against some of the best teams in the world,” said Cape Verde head coach Bubista, who entered his post-game press conference to applause from much of the media in attendance. “We are a small nation but we have shown that we can face any team and go toe to toe. Being our first time in the World Cup, we feel extremely proud of what we have accomplished in this tournament.”

A little under 15 minutes into the second half, Deroy Duarte – a midfielder who plays his club football in Bulgaria and had never scored for Cape Verde in 36 appearances – equalized with a finish nearly as good as Messi’s. And Vozinha, who became a sensation on social media and real life alike after the Spain match, solidified his place as one of the World Cup’s most unexpected all-time heroes, pushing back Argentina again and again to force the match into extra time.

There was an air of finality when Argentina pulled ahead early in extra time, but Cape Verde were not done. They stood on even footing with the defending champions and Sidny Lopes Cabral scored one of this tournament’s standout goals, smashing an effort across the face of goal and into the upper corner of the far post. Argentina would score a late winner off an own goal, but Cape Verde had, in many ways, emerged victorious.

Consider the mismatch: the Blue Sharks were not even officially recognized by Fifa until 1986, right around the time Argentina were winning their second World Cup. The country – the smallest ever to qualify for the knockout round of a World Cup – has no domestic league and culls most of its talent from a diaspora that spans continents. The individual transfer value of five players on Argentina’s World Cup roster exceeds that of the combined value of Cape Verde’s entire starting XI on Friday. Lionel Messi’s net worth – a little over $1bn – is roughly a third of the tiny island nation’s GDP.

“One of the things that’s come out of this tournament already,” Cape Verde defender Pico Lopes told the Guardian, “is that nobody asks where Cape Verde is anymore. They know where we are on a map, I think all Cape Verdeans around the world who aspire to be footballers – we’ve shown them the way today.”

One only needed to look in the stands at Miami Stadium to understand the disparity between the two teams. No team in the World Cup enjoys the level of support Argentina does and in Miami – which has a large population of Argentinian immigrants – the crowd was an undulating, deafening mass of humanity, singing and leaping in unison. Banners and flags hung from the upper deck, bearing the names of every imaginable province and town in Argentina. Nearly everyone in attendance wore a Messi jersey. Those who didn’t, wore Maradona’s.

Cape Verde fans were barely visible in the mass – the country’s population after all is 500,000 compared with Argentina’s 48 million – but they made for a joyous scene nonetheless. The small pocket of a few thousand supporters, tucked away in the upper deck behind the north goal, did not have their spirits dimmed after Messi’s early goal, continuing to urge their team forward against seemingly impossible odds. The team have become national heroes, and the country has effectively shut down for their matches.

And they have become appreciated abroad, as well. Sprinkled amidst the Cape Verde fans in attendance were more than a few locals and tourists, clearly bandwagoners – but welcome bandwagoners, brought eagerly into the fold by the team’s long-time supporters.

“We felt support not just from the people from Cape Verde,” said Lopes, “and even from Ireland, where I’m from. The support from other parts of the world has been amazing. I think a lot of people have adopted us as our second team. It has been overwhelming to feel that support.”

Friday’s spectacle is, to this point, the match of the tournament not only because of its drama and absurdity. More than that, it encapsulates what so many love about sports and more specifically the World Cup, which so often pits the world’s dominant sides against its minnows. The tournament also allows space for pride in a loss, offering no shame for elimination at the hands of a team who have made tidy work of so many others.

It’s a scene hammered home by a lasting image from Friday night. Argentina and Cape Verde fans took their time leaving the stadium, the Argentinians savoring their progress to the last 16, and the Cape Verdeans lingering in their disbelief at what they’d witnessed.

As the mass of humanity descended the huge, concrete exit ramps, there were embraces, and even tears, between opposing fans. There was mutual respect and affection. They knew their teams had combined to gift the world a match that won’t soon be forgotten.