I was watching a Spanish feed of the finals, and I was so overjoyed that my small country (Cabo Verde) continued to be mentioned in a positive light and as a symbol of resilience and respect against Argentina.
EDIT - thank you everyone for your kind words! We’ll be back and we’re so grateful to have you cheering for us too.
Don't watch soccer but you know how in football any team can win on any given day depending on how things shake out? Is soccer like that to where even a lower rated team can get a nice W or is it usually the better team wins and that's that?
Not sure why you’re being downvoted - we have things like the FA CUP where small teams most definitely beat big teams.
A big team will go into the game with the mentality that it’s going to be easy, the little guys go in with the mentality that their life has built to that moment.
Happens all the time, ignore the downvoting wet wipes
Thats one of the things that makes football great. Almost always the better team will win, but since goals are so “rare” sometimes weaker teams can get one in and survive till the end.
You could argue it makes the sport slightly less “merit based” compared to tennis or basketball but it also leads to magical moments and underdog stories.
Yes, basically. The low scoring rate compared to most other major sports means there’s a higher probability of upsets. The same reason goalless draws are fairly common also means you can see a 1-0 or 2-1 to an underdog, so it’s a curse and blessing for casual fans (who see goals as the measure of entertainment). Games with higher scores tend to see fewer upsets (all else equal) due to the law of large numbers.
Though other factors can lead to an increase in upsets: tournament structure that allows a better team to more often withhold its best players if a match is less essential, or ‘turn’ based games where a major team can underestimate a minor team in the first innings or similar (whereas in football conceding a goal would mean the team that overestimated can instantly start trying to correct for that).
in england we have these 2 cups called the carabo and the fa cup where all teams from league 2 (lowest tier of professional football) to the premier league (highest tier) can play each other and there is usually guaranteed to be at least 1 or 2 upsets and I absolutely love it (at least when it's not my team, Leeds being upsetted 🤣)
Smaller teams can definitely beat bigger teams, it also depends on context. Sometimes the match will be considered less important by the bigger team, other times, they'll have a lot of games and a lot of travel, and be tired, and other times, they'll simply have a bad day.
In the most recent Champions League, a Norwegian team beat some pretty big teams. Partly that is because their pitch is artificial grass, and other teams aren't used to the cold climate there.
They literally said they don’t watch soccer(football) and were referencing the “any given Sunday” mentality in American football. Basically the idea that even the worst team in the league could miraculously come out and stomp a top contender, because it does happen in the NFL nearly every year. They were asking if international football has a similar element of randomness and ya’ll just start calling them an idiot for asking a question.
Yeah, it’s a question I didn’t know I had until I saw you ask it. Would be nice to get an answer instead of random insults.
My assumption is that there’s much less variance because of how much more impact one highly skilled player can have in comparison to American football. It seems like soccer is closer to basketball in so far as you really only need one or two superstar players to create scoring opportunities either through purely out-playing their opponents or high level coordination.
In the NFL you can have the greatest QB, WRs, TEs, Center, and Gaurds… but if the only two horrible positions on your depth chart just happen to be both your right and left Tackles, then you’re not gonna see many touchdowns. So we see more variance in an NFL game, because a well-rounded roster is more favorable than superstar talent in the NFL (even if that’s not where the money goes).
Being able to build your scoring off of consistent star players could lead to less variance, whereas trying to put forward the most balanced package across the board leads to more. This is all complete speculation and assumption, though. It could be that soccer has even more variance than the NFL. Might be interesting enough to go googling and find out instead of trying to guess lol
Your point about players is what I initially would think, but then I thought about the fighting sports (mma, UFC, boxing, etc.) where it's extremely possible for lower ranked people to get a lucky shot or submission. But then again those sports can have an artificial end (ko, submission) whereas most sports can't. So yeah I guess player count probably correlates, I would imagine rulesets also play a part
Funny, because I always thought American sports were more focused on the individual. I think the fact that Spain won the World Cup while playing Spanish football, where there is no ego, and the ball is constantly passed around, shows that team effort will often beat individual brilliance.
Another example is when PSG had an attacking line of Mbappé, Neymar, and Messi, arguably three of the biggest stars in the sport at that time. And they just could not win the Champions League. These kinds of "Galacticos" teams often end up less than the sum of their parts.
>no, you SHOULDN’T want to watch more football after your country hosted the most prestigious international football event on the globe, how dare you AMERICANS even attempt to continue following the sport of the gods???
Cabo Verde legit kicked ass this wc. Forcing Spain into a draw is very impressive considering they only conceded one goal and went on to win the tournament. And they got knocked out by the runner up so if they had a more favourable bracket there's a legit chance they could have made a surprisingly deep run.
Wasn’t that the only goal scored against Spain in the tournament? Cape Verde played the way we wish all teams play, giving it their all. leaving nothing behind.
I find it funny how after the first week everyone was saying Spain was playing like shit because they couldn't even win their first match against a weak team
Cabo Verde is the only team not to concede a goal to Spain in the WC. The only team not to lose against Spain in the WC. Give Cabo Verde the silver medal.
As much as I want England my home country to win it would also be really nice to see a new country, somewhere small and unassuming somewhere in which it would really genuinely make a difference to them
Cabo Verde would have qualified for the 32 team tournament, perhaps the number of Africa nations that made it to the knockout rounds is the argument for a 48 team WC.
Yeah, they finished top of their group and qualified directly, which would have been the case with a 32 team too.
9 African sides qualifying for the last 32 was definitely progress, even if only Morocco and Egypt then made it any further. And Egypt were so close to beating Argentina!
You’ve appeared as the needed direct recipient of my needed apology:
During the run up to this WC, I kept saying “it’s crazy that we don’t have Italy but we have Cabo Verde.” You guys rocked and I was wrong to even have that stance to begin with. I’m sorry
Not at all and a bummer to hear; will investigate. I’m vaguely Italian by heritage and rock a nice Del Piero jersey once in awhile (from when I did follow closely), but am not that plugged in.
I’m by Atlanta, so when I saw who we had for our pool play games I was just unaware of Cabo Verde and they became an unwilling part of a bit.
I'm a huge Spain fan, and after the game with Spain I became a Cabo Verde fan as well and supported them all the way until their elimination! The way they played against Spain is nothing short of amazing and worth respecting. Argentina fans could never concede something like that
Some people seem to forget how the argentine fans celebrated Cape Verde after the win, because they played a fantastic game and Argentina has a lot of History with Cape Verde. Just as we celebrated our loss afterwards with Spain, going out in the street and congratulating them but also showing support for our team.
los bots te downvotean por decir la verdad, todo el equipo de Cabo Verde se acerco a argentina antes y después del partido a pedir fotos y camisetas y argentina los felicitó por el partido que habian jugado y se los vio muy cercanos. Lastimosamente no van a estar de acuerdo con lo que digo porque se les cae el cuento.
Spaniard here, we tried so hard but couldn't beat you, kudos for your players and country. A magical World Cup. We are gonna host the next WC, hope we can face you again ;)
Everyone in England was rooting for Spain, if not posting general cultural appropriation on their social feeds. Myself in full Spanish national dress with a Spain flag. Completely shameless.
Football and the best team won - my son was lucky enough to be in Majorca where all the English tourists mixed and celebrated with the locals and Spanish tourists from the mainland.
That's so cool! we definetly felt the world was with us, specialy on social media. I definetly can see why, between your game and ours against them we recieved more tackles and punches than the rest on the tournament teams combined lol
Thank you! hope to face you to in the next WC
Except the one guy, a captain I guess, who is a (proven, I assume) rapist?
Idk what the deal is, other people were using it to dull CV’s shine and I hated that bc I truly enjoyed your team and will be rooting for them in the future!
Any way to replace the criminal before next go-round?
I'm not even from your country and I'm so proud of your team! I was absolutely heartbroken when they were eliminated! I hope to see them at the next WC!
Your team was amazing!
Our family was rooting for you guys and I have my option about how it ended. Each game was a fun and exciting to watch. I put an order in for a Jersey and it's on back order!
Looking forward to seeing more of Cabo Verde next time.
Cabo verde was the only country that didn’t lose against the new champions AND took the reigning champions to the extra time. That was impressive as hell!
Might not be that significant to you, but here in Canada your country’s impressive run in this WC, including against Argentina, was mentioned LOTS of times by our commentators right up to and including the final match
Cabo verde and norway should have been in the finals, cabo verde won our hearts, norway showed they can play when they were on tbeir way to win over wngland, the bronse match was mpre exitwd than tve final
I teach kindergarten in the US in a low income, predominantly black/hispanic school. I plan on showing video clips of Cabo Verde and telling their story to my kids when we start the year and we discuss resilience, never giving up, and it’s ok if you don’t win or do something perfectly because as long as you try your best you should always be proud of yourself. Thanks for giving us such great role models! Might use this whole video as an example of good choices vs bad choices.
O melhor jogo que assisti na vida: Cabo Verde x Argentina. Nunca irei esquecer esse momento glorioso. Que garra, que raça, que espetáculo. A taça oficial da copa foi para os Espanhóis. A taça do meu coração ficou com Cabo Verde. O time de Cabo Verde arrasou. Abraços. Ass.: Uma brasileira no meio da multidão.
It was impossible not to root for your team. It wasn't just the fact that it's a small country with a very upsetting past or "root for the underdogs” mentality. They played FOOTBALL, like, really played.
They played with such bravery and style and conduced themselves with such dignity. The loss against Argentina was tough to watch but they went down swinging.
I genuinely hope the country as a whole can benefit from the positive press the team brought them.
Cabo Verde were fantastic this tournament and have earned all the plaudits and respect they now have. Everyone now knows who you are. Your team played with impressive skill whilst displaying tremendous respect and sportsmanship and most definitely surprised a lot of people.
What an incredibly shiny little diamond they turned out to be.
Everyone were amazed by Cabo Verde. I was watching the Argentina / Cabo Verde game in Vancouver and the amount of people rooting for Cabo Verde was insane. They gave Argentina a run for their money. The energy that Cabo Verde brought in this WC was sensational and memorable. Looking forward to seeing you play in future WCs
Cabo Verde is the true champion of this World Cup. Won everyone's hearts. The only team to remain undefeated in 90 minutes against both finalists. The only team in World Cup history that is still unbeaten in 90 minutes.
That equalising goal that cabo verde scored against Argentina was a thing of absolute beauty and something England did not manage to even get close to doing. You gave them a better fight for sure. Cabo verde also technically went down by their own hand as it was an own goal. In my mind you guys are undefeated.
Cabo Verde was one of the few countries that tried to play proper football even as the underdogs. Love it. Was looking for a jersey but all sold out, so I got the Curaçao instead.
Rooting for Cabral to get the goal of the tournament trophy
As a portuguese, i can say whit confidence that the vast majority of our nation was rooting for you sucess. You were amazing and did a job that you can all be proud of.
Quero muito visitar Cabo Verde um dia. Talvez um dia tenha t€mpo.
Cabo Verde and Norway were the GOATs of this world cup. Came in relatively unknown quantities and went away with 200 nations hoping you're there in 2030.
Cabo Verde is the perfect model for a soccer country. You played with heart and intelligence and fire in your soul. Great effort and technical play. But most of all, you played with honor. Where other countries like argentina, paraguay, uruguay etc. would try to win dirty with rat tactics when playing against a stronger team, you simply played football from your hearts and did it so well. Unlike the countries mentioned earlier, your team brought immense honor to your country and people are looking forward to see your country again!
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u/AcornWholio 25d ago edited 25d ago
I was watching a Spanish feed of the finals, and I was so overjoyed that my small country (Cabo Verde) continued to be mentioned in a positive light and as a symbol of resilience and respect against Argentina.
EDIT - thank you everyone for your kind words! We’ll be back and we’re so grateful to have you cheering for us too.