Cape Verde targeting World Cup knockout rounds after Uruguay draw, says coach

MIAMI GARDENS: Cape Verde coach Bubista said his team are targeting a place in the World Cup knockout rounds after battling to a 2-2 draw with Uruguay in the latest stop of their fairytale campaign on Sunday.

The World Cup debutants from the tiny Atlantic archipelago are now within touching distance of the last 32 after following up their improbable opening draw with Spain by taking a point from Uruguay.

Cape Verde, ranked 63rd in the world, will head into their final Group H game against Saudi Arabia knowing that victory will secure passage into the next round.

“Since the beginning, what we’ve been saying is that we would like to compete at the highest possible level, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Bubista said.

“That’s what we’ve been doing in these two matches, and more important than the result is to be able to show our identity as a team, our strength, our unity, and also our resilience.

“We’re here to compete to try to achieve a new dream, which is to qualify for the second round and I think it’s legitimate to think that way.

“We have the utmost respect for all of our opponents…but we’re now at a point of saying yes, we will definitely fight for qualification.”

Bubista had promised before Sunday’s game that his team would play “without fear” against Uruguay.

They proved as good as their word, taking the lead with a superb Kevin Pina free-kick and then recovering from 2-1 down to level through Helio Varela before holding on for a draw.

“We want to show the entire world that we are in the condition to fight for qualification, and I think that’s what we showed today in today’s match,” Bubista said.

“At this point all we are thinking about is to qualify for the next round.”