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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Martin Belam

After Cape Verde’s heroics against Spain, more great World Cup underdog stories

Joe Gaetjens is carried off by cheering fans after the USA beat England 1-0 in in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the shock result of the 1950 finals
Joe Gaetjens is carried off by cheering fans after the USA beat England 1-0 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the shock result of the 1950 finals Photograph: AP

Cape Verde’s stunning draw against Spain produced some incredible statistics. The Spaniards had 27 attempts on the goal of the 40-year-old Vozinha and completed 734 passes compared with Cape Verde’s 205. It was an unbelievable rearguard action from a side ranked 61 places below their opponents, who had just named the oldest starting XI of the tournament with an average age north of 31 years.

It will no doubt enter World Cup lore as one of the greatest displays of dogged defending the competition has seen. To celebrate, here is a look back at some of those magic moments when underdogs truly had their day.

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