On June 29, two of the most decorated programs in soccer history packed their bags and went home. Germany, a four-time world champion, lost a penalty shootout to Paraguay after a 1-1 draw, missing three spot kicks. Hours later, the Netherlands, a three-time finalist ranked seventh in the world, fell the same way, to Morocco. Both were eliminated in the round of 32, the very first knockout round of the expanded tournament. These were, by all accounts, colossal disappointments.
But look at who was still standing. Cape Verde, an island nation of roughly 525,000 people appearing in its first World Cup, had already held former champions Spain and Uruguay to draws, finishing second in its group, unbeaten. They would go on to heroically push defending champion Argentina, the reigning World Cup Champions, to extra time before losing 3-2. Their journey is now over, but their story still deserves to be told.
