Whisper it if you must, but it looks as if Gianni (‘Today I feel gay…’) Infantino might have got it right with Fifa’s jumbo-busting World Cup, all 48 teams, 104 games and 39 days of it. Just look at some of the results: forget the Norwegians ‘Viking row’, Messi’s relentless brilliance, magnificent Mbappé, even wise Emma Hayes and her kitchen chalkboard. Look at tiny Cape Verde. With a population of 530,000, about the size of Bristol, it’s one-fifth the size of Jamaica, half that of Mauritius and one-third less than Gran Canaria. But they have been handling football’s aristocrats with the fervour of a French revolutionary execution party.
First they managed to draw 0-0 with Spain: that’s Spain, the 2010 World Champions and the 2024 European Champions; the team of Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Gavi and Ferran Torres. Still couldn’t get past Cape Verde though, could they? If anything should convince us of the value of a bigger tournament, it’s that result.
Cape Verde have been handling football’s aristocrats with the fervour of a French revolutionary execution party
But not just that: a few days later they held mighty, battling (some would use another word) Uruguay to a thrilling 2-2 draw in Miami. That’s Uruguay, twice world champions and blessed with a monumental footballing pedigree featuring such stars as Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlán and Manuel Ugarte. They are managed by Marcelo Bielsa, former Leeds manager and widely regarded as one of the most influential coaches of all time. But it’s not looking that good for him, thanks to the courage, skill and fearlessness of little Cape Verde. What more could anyone want from tournament football?
