Cape Verde completed an improbable run through the group stage with a third straight World Cup draw to become the smallest country to earn a spot in the knockout round following a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Friday night. The small island nation off the western coast of Africa, which is making its debut on soccers grandest stage, already held 2010 champion Spain to a 0-0 draw and then came from behind to get a 2-2 result against Uruguay. Cape Verdes three points put the team in second place behind Spain, which beat Uruguay on Friday night and won the group. Cape Verde will play reigning World Cup champion Argentina in Miami on July 3. Drawing all three group matches does not guarantee advancement at major soccer tournaments. But several teams have done it in the past, including Wales in 1958, Ireland and the Netherlands in 1990, and Chile in 1998. New Zealand, however, also got three draws at the 2010 World Cup and was eliminated. On the eve of the match, Cape Verde coach Bubista mused, "everyone is entitled to dream and nothing is impossible." The Blue Sharks proved him right, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds as this country of just more than 500,000 reached the round of 32. A woman, her face painted with a flag of the archipelago, held a sign that read: "Small Islands, Big Dreams." A dream that these underdogs have made reality as they continue their charmed run on the world stage. They did it with another strong game from Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper whose tournament success has helped him amass more than 16 million Instagram followers. He had a save in first half stoppage time, grabbing a header from Mohamed Kanno to keep Saudi Arabia scoreless. Another save came in the 66th minute when he leaped to deflect a shot from Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat. A third came in the 92nd minute when he stopped a shot by Abdullah Al-Hamdan. A group of shirtless men in the crowd each painted one letter of his name on their chests as they cheered Cape Verde. But Vozinha had a much bigger fan among the crowd of 68,278 as his mother Ana Candida Evora watched from a luxury suite, waving a tiny Cape Verde flag. It was her second match of the tournament after missing Vozinhas epic seven-save performance against Spain because of visa issues. Cape Verde had a chance to score in the 50th minute, but Kevin Pina's shot from distance was just above the crossbar. Another chance came in the 74th minute when Laros Duartes shot from the middle of the box was stopped by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais. A last chance to score came in the final seconds when Nuno da Costa sent a shot from the middle of the box wide left. But it didnt matter because a couple of minutes after the final whistle, Spain completed its victory over Uruguay and set off a joyous celebration among Cape Verde's players and fans, many of whom cried as they rejoiced. Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Lionel Scaloni is expected to deploy a rotated squad in Argentinas next World Cup match against Jordan on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, with Lionel Messi likely relegated to the bench.Leo will be a substitute tomorrow, to play later. Well announce the team tomorrow, Scaloni told the media. The decision of who starts tomorrow is not in relation to the opponent well face in the next round.Argentina have already qualified for the Round of 32 as Group J winners after back-to-back victories against Algeria and Austria, so playing Messi heavy minutes is unnecessary. The Inter Miami star currently leads the race for this tournaments Golden Boot with five goals, while breaking several records in the process.Messi has been dealing with a left hamstring injury in the build-up to the World Cup, so Scaloni doesnt want to risk further injury for his star. However, the 48-year-old tactician will have his pick of the litter on who to replace Messi.MORE:Lionel Messi explains why hes angry with his record-breaking performance against AustriaJune 16, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.; Argentinas Lionel Messi scores their first goal. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn ImagesLionel Scaloni hints at Argentinas strategy against Jordan in group stage finaleBesides Lionel Messi, head coach Lionel Scaloni could also bench some of Argentinas other starters against Jordan, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez could be the only regular starter in the lineup. Despite this, La Albicelestes approach shouldnt veer away from what made them successful so far.The hope is that the team will play the same way. Thats what were going to try to do, Scaloni said. Jordan is a good opponent, and were not taking anything for granted. Well try to tweak some aspects of the last match, but with the same intention of controlling the ball and dominating the opponent.Nico Paz, Julian Alvarez, Valentin Barco, Flaco Lopez, and Exequiel Palacios are among the viable candidates who could replace Messi against Jordan. Marcos Senesi, Nicolas Otamendi, and Nicolas Tagliafico could also soak up more playing time at the back for La Albiceleste.After facing Jordan, Argentina will head to Miami for their Round of 32 clash against Cape Verde, the runners-up in Group H.

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In a memorable tournament debut, Cape Verde's 2026 World Cup run will extend into next week. Its 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia on Friday night was its third straight draw, but it was enough to qualify for the knockout stage. Goalkeeper Vozinha kept his second clean sheet of the tournament, as Cape Verde's impressive defense shut down Saudi Arabia. The African underdog also created the best chances of the game and was good value to earn a point from the game. Here are our takeaways: 1. Cape Verde's Magical Run Will Continue Ahead of this result against Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde played two of the best games of the tournament. The 0-0 draw against Spain was one of the most exciting scoreless games you'll ever see, with Vozinha practically standing on his head at times to keep the reigning European champions out. Then, a 2-2 draw against Uruguay was a thriller. Cape Verde scored its first-ever World Cup goal through a fantastic Kevin Pina free kick. It then conceded twice before Hlio Varela's pressing earned a memorable equalizer. While the draw against Saudi Arabia wasn't necessarily as thrilling, Cape Verde showed great defensive organization and composure. Ultimately, all it needed to advance was a draw, and Cape Verde played exactly the kind of game to make that happen. Also, it had the better chances and was the more threatening team in attack. 2. Cape Verde's Prize For Advancing: Argentina Congrats on advancing, Cape Verde! What an accomplishment. Now, use that defensive prowess to stop the best player ever. Group H's runner-up is matched up with Group J's winner, a title that Argentina has already clinched. The reigning world champions will play their last group match on Saturday night against Jordan. Lionel Messi is not going to start that game since Argentina has nothing to gain from the game. It will be a monumental challenge for Cape Verde, but it will go into it with the confidence it earned from its 0-0 draw against Spain to open the tournament. In the knockout stage, a 0-0 draw could lead to penalties and potentially advancing in the tournament. 3. Saudi Arabia Lacked Necessary Attacking Prowess Saudi Arabia showed that it can compete at the World Cup, but taking the next step and winning matches was the problem. It scored the opening goal in its first game against Uruguay but was unable to build on that before conceding an equalizer. Then, it never stood a chance against Spain. Against Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia had less than 50% of possession. Between its three group games, it created less than 1.5 expected goals and had just four shots against Cape Verde. That is not a recipe for success. Saudi Arabia's tournament ends here, and it has not made it to the knockout stage in any of its last six World Cup appearances. 4. African Countries Are Thriving At This World Cup With Cape Verde advancing, four African countries have advanced to the knockout stage by finishing in the top two of their group. South Africa, Morocco and Ivory Coast have already qualified by finishing second in their group, and Egypt joined the party on Friday night before playing Iran in Group G thanks to the results of the second set of games. Senegal's win on Friday also has its chances of advancing as one of the top eight third-place teams looking good. What's wild is that Nigeria, one of the best teams in Africa, did not even qualify for the tournament.