Cape Verde national football team players greet supporters from a bus upon their arrival in Praia on July 5, 2026, after competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Jose Correia / AFP)
Thousands of ecstatic fans greeted Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks Sunday, waving banners at the Praia airport as the team returned after its slim defeat to Argentina in one of the World Cup’s most surprising matches.
The Sharks are set for a parade through the streets of the capital before meeting with the president and other members of the government of the small archipelago nation off west Africa.
Cape Verde progressed to the knockout stages in their first World Cup, thrilling supporters back home and gaining fans abroad as they confounded expectations.
In an epic last-32 contest in Miami, Cape Verde pushed Argentina to the brink but the reigning world champions snatched a 3-2 win in extra time.
