World Cup debutants Cape Verde will face reigning champions Argentina in the knockout rounds after drawing 0-0 with Saudi Arabia on Friday to extend their fairytale journey.
The stalemate in Houston and Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay meant the team ranked 67 finished runners-up behind Spain in Group H.
Having drawn all three group matches, the archipelago nation of just over 500,000 will play Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami on July 3 in another chapter to their remarkable story.
The players of Cape Verde — the third-smallest team in World Cup history by population — were in tears afterwards, as were some of their fans.
The squad waited an agonising minute or two before news of the Spain win filtered through on a mobile phone, then erupted in celebration.
“I’m living in a dream to be honest,” midfielder Deroy Duarte told broadcasters.
The joyous scenes were replicated in Cape Verde’s capital Praia, where people had watched the big match into the early hours of the morning.
“We had this in our minds and heads that we could get to this stage,” said Cape Verde’s coach Bubista, who goes by one name and came to the press conference wrapped in his country’s flag.
“We felt the team was very eager to show this to the whole world.
“We are proud to get to this stage and again have showed the world that we are a small country but we fight for what we want.
“To us, nothing is impossible.”