Key events
“We did our best and we did it with bravery. Never did we fail to stay true to our identity, which is why I am so proud of what my players did.” The words of Cape Verde coach Bubista after his team gave Lionel Messi and Argentina a mighty scare in Miami.
Rival boss Lionel Scaloni, taking charge of his country for the 100th time, was a relieved man. “We suffered a very difficult game, we are still here but it won’t be easy, this is a very difficult World Cup. I hope the fans can have a drink now to relax for a bit.”
More quotes here from last night’s 3-2 epic.
Cape Verde out after classic with Argentina
There’s only one place to start – that World Cup classic between Argentina and Cape Verde. Here’s Barney Ronay (who watched it unfold at the Miami Stadium) on how the tiny island nation took the World Cup holders to the brink.
“Cape Verde, once again, were not done. They pressed, won three corners in quick succession. And with 102 minutes on the clock made it 2-2, with a moment of startling brilliance from Sydney Lopes Cabral, a goal that felt like one of the great World Cup moments, shades of Josimar ‘86, mixed with François Omam-Biyik, 1990 and all that.
“Cabral took the ball way out on the left, nipped inside, measured his strides, and produced the most beautifully pure right foot shot into the far corner past Emiliano Martínez, the ball seeming to hang in the damp Florida air, a perfect white orb, following that delicious parabola into the far corner.”
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of day 24 at the World Cup. We’ll have reaction to a thrilling day 23 and build-up to the first matches of the last 16: Canada v Morocco and Paraguay v France.
Leave a Reply