The final whistle in Houston brought no immediate celebration, only a huddle of Cape Verde players and staff around mobile phones. Their own 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia was complete, but passage to the knockout rounds depended on Spain defeating Uruguay in Guadalajara. When confirmation of a 1-0 Spanish victory arrived, the NRG Stadium erupted. The smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup’s knockout phase had done so without winning a single group match.

The stalemate itself was a tense, physical affair in which Cape Verde created the clearer chances. Willy Semedo forced a sharp save from Mohammed Al-Owais in the first half, and after the break Jamiro Monteiro and Kevin Pina both went close. The decisive moment came in the 75th minute, when Laros Duarte ran clear on goal only for Al-Owais to smother his shot. Saudi Arabia, needing a win to advance, lost defender Hassan Al-Tambakti to injury in the 33rd minute and rarely threatened, though Mohamed Kanno’s header in stoppage time required a save from the 40-year-old Vozinha, whose mother watched from a suite after resolving visa issues that had kept her from the opening match.

Cape Verde’s progress is built on defensive resilience. They held European champions Spain to a goalless draw in their first World Cup fixture, then came from behind to draw 2-2 with Uruguay. Three points from three draws left them second in Group H behind Spain, while Uruguay and Saudi Arabia were eliminated with two points each. The archipelago of just over half a million people becomes the first debutant to reach the knockouts since Slovakia in 2010, and the first team to advance with three draws since Chile in 1998. Coach Bubista, draped in the national flag, said: “We are proud to have arrived at this stage. We have shown that we are a small country, but that we fight for the things that we want to achieve.”

The reward is a meeting with Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami on 3 July. For a side that has already defied all expectations, the encounter with the reigning champions represents the next chapter in a story that has captivated audiences from Praia to Houston.