By our reporter 22.6.2026
After holding two FIFA World Cup giants Spain and Uruguay in their two group H games, Cape Verde coach Bubista said his team’s fairy tale run in the 2026 tournament had to continue as they aim to reach the knock out stage in their debut appearance.
On Sunday Cape Verde scored a second-half equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw against Uruguay in Miami, backing up their shock opening stalemate with Spain. Cape Verde boosted their hopes of reaching the knockout phase; a win against Saudi Arabia on Saturday would secure a last-32 berth depending on other results.
“We are here to compete and achieve a new dream, which is to qualify for the second round,” Bubista a former Cape Verde international said.
“We are now at the point where we can say we will definitely fight for qualification.
“This is something we owe to other smaller national teams — teams that struggled to qualify for a world tournament.”
The group of islands off Africa’s West coast have about 4,000 square kilometers of landmass and approximately a half million inhabitants, making Cape Verde the third-smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup.
“Considering what we’ve done with two international-grade teams, I think our focus has to be qualifying.
“If we were to think about the knockout rounds, I think it’s only legitimate to do so considering what we’ve done.”
Bubista…Cape Verde coach 