For Cape Verde, a World Cup run means many things will change

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Cape Verde’s World Cup team walked into its Miami hotel after getting eliminated from the tournament, almost in disbelief on the scene within the lobby.

Dozens of individuals were there, cheering for them.

After a loss, no less.

READ: World Cup: Messi, Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 in time beyond regulation thriller

Let that be the primary sign of how things are going to be very different in lots of respects for the team, a minimum of for the foreseeable future. Such is the case when a club goes from unheralded — and practically unheard of — to taking Lionel Messi and Argentina to the brink of elimination on football’s biggest stage, before falling 3-2 in a match that went to time beyond regulation.

“It’s time to rest and think in regards to the future,” Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha said. “But I’m very, very pleased with the team’s work, and I hope that in the long run we will achieve great things.”

In other words, he hopes seeds were planted.

Cape Verde went 0-1-3 in its 4 matches at its inaugural World Cup, which won’t look great on paper. Greater than two-thirds of the 48 teams on this tournament won a minimum of one game; Cape Verde wasn’t certainly one of them.

However the record simply doesn’t tell the entire story.

READ: World Cup: Cape Verde becomes smallest country into knockout round

It played Spain to a scoreless draw to open the group stage, making the prospect of advancing to the knockout stage very real. There have been two more ties in group play — a 2-2 tie against Uruguay that put Cape Verde getting ready to advancing, then a 0-0 tie against Saudi Arabia that was adequate to get the round of 32 trip secured.

Argentina’s players and coaches, to their credit, insisted they didn’t expect a cakewalk past Cape Verde. And when the match was over, Messi — generally considered to be the best player of all time — had nothing but compliments for the underdog opponent.

“Some people thought the match was going to be straightforward, but that couldn’t have been farther from reality,” Messi said after Friday’s match. “They pressed us rather well. There aren’t any handouts in knockout football. They’d already performed well against Spain and Uruguay, so we knew it was going to be difficult.”

For Argentina, getting the win was indeed difficult.

For Cape Verde, coming to grips that the ride ends here was also difficult.

That said, once they walked through that hotel lobby, it was just like the return of conquering heroes. Bubista, the team’s coach, shook his fist in celebration. Many players couldn’t stop smiling. Vozinha shook some hands and posed for a number of photos.

They were celebrities. Rock stars, almost. The rating didn’t matter. The totality of three weeks that put Cape Verde on soccer’s map did matter.

“I can only thank our team for his or her effort and for showing a lot heart on that pitch,” Bubista said. “And I believe everyone should thank them for what they did for this tournament.”