The Legend of Cape Verde: How an Island of Half a Million Built the Best Team at the World Cup The World Cup is known for its unpredictability, but few teams have managed to defy expectations as convincingly as Cape Verde.
With a population of just over 525,000 and no notable football pedigree, their appearance on the world stage was met with skepticism.
Yet, they proceeded to hold former champions Spain and Uruguay to draws, finishing second in their group unbeaten.