After World Cup debut, Cape Verde returns to Tampa looking for more

Outside of Cape Verde's World Cup camp, a group of fans fight strong gusts of wind. The breeze is a rare reprieve from the afternoon's oppressive heat, but, in this instance, an inconvenience, too.

While their team trains on the Tampa Bay Rowdies' practice fields in Tampa, these supporters have undertaken an exultant demonstration of national pride in the parking lot. They're collaborating to drape a massive Cape Verdean flag over an RV, each of them strategically stationed around the vehicle as they unfurl it, the flag large enough to cover half a dozen parking spaces. One fan uses an open RV door as a ladder up to the vehicle's roof. From above, they effort to hold down the billowing, ballooning flag.

The decorated RV is not visible to the team, and there is no crowd watching in the parking lot. Their display is an endeavor born from pure giddiness, an encapsulation of the excitement that has captivated Cape Verdeans everywhere - the kind that makes such a demonstration worthwhile, even if there is no one else there to see it.

Inside the team's practice, there is more evidence of this excitement. There is heightened security, and the media scrums grow larger by the day. Reporters shout questions at Vozinha, the 40-year old goalkeeper whose Instagram following grew by 14 million in less than a week, like they're paparazzi peppering a celebrity. He takes questions for six minutes, not nearly long enough to answer all the inquiries journalists from across the globe have for him.

"I'm very grateful for everything, but, please, let's speak about football," Vozinha says.

Cape Verde, in the eyes of many, has accomplished enough to last a lifetime. Considered a massive underdog in their first World Cup, particularly in their opening match against Spain, the team delivered a stunning draw against the tournament favorites. By maintaining a clean sheet against Spain, Vozinha etched his name into Cup lore. The image of him reaching backward to barely deflect a Spanish shot over the crossbar, is poised to be memorialized back home with a mural, if not a statue.

The Blue Sharks are the darlings of the world's most popular tournament, but they don't want the chaos, or the complacency, that such a title can bring.

"It's gone, to be honest with you," center-back Roberto Lopes said. "It was great after the game. We let ourselves enjoy it for 24 hours, which I think is important. You have to enjoy these moments.

"But then, it's gone. It's a point. It's the first game. We have two more really important games. Our focus has to go on that. We can't still be thinking about the game against Spain with what's to come."

Lopes, known as "Pico," has a story that has garnered worldwide attention, too. Born and raised in Ireland to a Cape Verdean father, he's one of many members of the country's diaspora that has contributed to the national team's progress.

Pico was recruited to the Blue Sharks through a message on LinkedIn, the professional networking platform. The first message he received was in Portuguese, and because he did not speak the language, he dismissed an invitation to the team as spam. He did not realize the opportunity he was being offered until the Cape Verdean federation followed up with a message in English months later.

Against Spain, Pico and Vozinha anchored the team. While Vozinha conjured up one save after another, Pico was the centerpiece of a Herculean defensive effort. The Blue Sharks stifled Spain to the point of desperation, even forcing the stacked squad to sub in its young superstar, Lamine Yamal, who was still ramping up after injury. Not even Yamal, who has widely drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi, had an answer for the puzzle Pico and Vozinha presented.

When Spain was awarded a final scoring opportunity, a corner kick with the referee set to whistle the game's conclusion, television cameras fittingly cut to Pico, standing in the center of the penalty box, directing his defense and holding up an encouraging index finger, reminding his teammates they were on the brink - one stop away.

That count now resets. As Pico and his teammates prepare for their ensuing games - Sunday against Uruguay in Miami and Friday against Saudi Arabia in Houston - they understand they'll need much more.

So, while chaos abounds around them, the team keeps its process consistent, committed to keeping both distraction and complacency from derailing its aspirations.

"We don't win the competition because we got a draw against Spain," Pico says. "We're fully focused on Uruguay."

Vozinha, whose mother was awarded a visa by the United States government this week so she could travel to watch her son play, joins the team's other two goalkeepers on a side field for the same drills he's done for nearly two decades. Pico and his running mates work through their typical agility movements, and they mark the end of practice on the same stationary bikes. All of it with the same conviction that has gotten them this far.

"People might have seen us as underdogs, but we've got real belief in our squad, in the quality we have and the hard work we've put in to get here," Pico said. "We're not just here to take part. We want to be competitive and try to get out of our group."

How to watch

Cape Verde's group-stage schedule

Sunday: vs. Uruguay, 6 p.m., at Miami Gardens TV: FS1, Telemundo

Friday: vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 p.m., at Houston TV: FS1, Telemundo

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 8:15 AM.