Cape Verde on Cusp of World Cup Knockouts After Stunning Draws

Cape Verde's World Cup campaign will go down in history - and they are now on the cusp of going a step further.

They had already produced one of the biggest shocks of all time as they drew with Spain in their tournament debut, producing the game with the biggest gap in rankings where the higher-ranked side didn't win.

The Blue Sharks showed their class again on the game's biggest stage on Sunday by holding two-time winners Uruguay, and are now in serious contention for a place in the knockouts.

They were creative, entertaining and confident in their thrilling 2-2 draw, and produced another dose of the steely determination that guided them to their shock result against Spain.

The archipelago of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, with a population of just under 525,000 according to the latest figures from the World Bank, have now held their own against two World Cup stalwarts.

No heroics were needed from goalkeeper Vozinha - who rose from 40,000 Instagram followers before the game against Spain to move than 15 million - this time as they limited Uruguay to just two shots on target, but heroes were found at the other end of the pitch.

"They will be checking their phones to see how many followers they have," said former Wales defender Ashley Wiliams on BBC One.

Vozinha's mother was not able to attend the Spain match because of the high cost of obtaining a visa to enter the USA but she was present in Miami, and treated to an enthralling display.

Written off by pundits going into their match against Uruguay - Williams and Benni McCarthy on BBC One both predicted they would lose - Cape Verde refused to follow the script.

A gift led to the second goal which drew the scores level, but Helio Varela did well regardless to produce a deft touch to take the ball past the stranded Muslera before stroking it into the back of the net.

After that, Cape Verde showed the defensive strength that made the difference against Spain to be able to hold on to a point.

They made sure to combine it with their attacking threat, though, and continued to hunt for a way to snatch three points.

It was a performance which led former South Africa striker McCarthy to say he has a "new lease of respect" for Cape Verde, and ex-Wales defender Williams to claim it was the "most entertaining" game he has covered at the World Cup so far.

"They really came out to play," said McCarthy. "They were sensational. I thought they were brave.

"The only thing that's needed is working on their final-third entry, that composure, working on those decisions in the final moment of the game. I think they've won a lot of people's hearts after this performance."

One Cape Verde fan told BBC Sport at a fan park in the US that "everybody doubted us, everybody thought we weren't going to make it. We're here now".

Such a reaction captures the feeling currently surrounding Cape Verde, who are fast becoming one of the best stories of this year's World Cup.

Drawing with Uruguay means Cape Verde are third in the Group H table, level with Sunday's opponents on two points.

The new format in this expanded World Cup means Cape Verde have a fighting chance of making the knockouts on their tournament debut.

They take on Saudi Arabia, who drew 1-1 with Uruguay and were thrashed 4-0 by Spain, on Saturday in their final group-stage game (01:00 BST).

"I think this performance gets them a win against Saudi Arabia," McCarthy said on BBC One.

Eight of the 12 best third-placed teams will qualify for the last 32, while the top two sides in each group progress automatically.

Three points against Saudi Arabia will likely be enough for them to seal progression.

Nigeria (74th in 1998) and Russia (70th in 2018) are the only teams to progress to the knockout stage previously who were ranked lower than Cape Verde currently are (63rd).

On Cape Verde's confidence, Williams said: "They'll be going into the Saudi Arabia game with their tails up thinking 'we can qualify here'."