‘I can’t describe how disappointed and saddened we are’: Saudi players dismayed by World Cup exit
HOUSTON: Before the team buses had arrived at the NRG Stadium on Friday night, local media had billed Houston as Saudi Arabia’s “home away from home,” a city with deep economic, educational and cultural ties to the Kingdom.
Yet by full-time, as the white-shirted Saudis lay prostrate after crashing out of the World Cup at the group stage for a sixth successive time, there was no doubting where the neutrals’ sympathies lay.
World Cup debutants Cape Verde knew they might need only a draw to prolong their remarkable journey and progress to the Round of 32.
With Uruguay failing to get anything against Spain, the third smallest country in Africa — with a 40-year-old goalkeeper and a defender who was called up after receiving a direct message on LinkedIn — secured a place in the knock-out stages. Next they face reigning champions Argentina led by Lionel Messi. The tiny Atlantic nation has become one of the most captivating stories of the summer.
