Cape Verde: Islanders trying to break Bafana and SA's hearts at Afcon

• Bafana Bafana will face a tricky Cape Verde side in the African Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Saturday.
• The next match will be the sixth meeting between the two countries, with two wins and one draw each.
• Explore Cape Verde's unique characteristics and get to know the Blue Sharks ahead of the much-anticipated weekend game.
• For more Afcon news, please visit News24 Africa Cup of Nations Zone.

It's one thing to believe in a goal, but it's another thing to communicate effectively and inspire 23 people to share that belief.

Head coach Pedro “Bubista” Brito's unwavering belief has successfully conveyed to the Cape Verdean army that they have a chance to reach the African Cup of Nations semi-finals.

This is the second time in history that the Blue Sharks have reached the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations.

But they will be up against an equally determined Bafana Bafana team eager to achieve a similar feat, a milestone South Africa have not experienced since the 2000 tournament.

The islanders achieved a miraculous result at the 34th Afcon tournament held in Ivory Coast. They still suffered defeat after shocking four-time champions Ghana (3-2), demolishing Mozambique (3-0) and beating Egypt to a stunning draw (2-2). I haven't tasted it.

A penalty against neighboring Mauritania was enough and he has now booked a ticket for the quarter-final against South Africa on Saturday 3 February (22:00 local time) at the Charles Conan Bunny Stadium in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast.

Here, we take a deeper dive into Cape Verde, exploring the country and its formidable underdog opponents who were giant killers in the African Cup of Nations.

A country called Cape Verde

What many people don't know about Cape Verde or Cape Verde is that 10 West African islands make up the country's archipelago, divided into two groups known as the Barrabendo (windward) islands and the Sotavento (leeward) islands. It means that there is.

The Barlavento group consists of the islands of Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal and Boa Vista, while the Sotavento group includes Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava. All of these islands are inhabited, except for Santa Luzia.

With a population of approximately 605,000 people and an area of ​​4,033 square kilometers, Cape Verde is Afcon's smallest country. The country is primarily known for exporting fish (accounting for 75 percent of total exports) and clothing (10 percent).

Spain is the main export partner, accounting for 86% of total exports, followed by Portugal with 10% and the United States.

These islands were ruled and colonized by Portugal from 1462 until July 5, 1975. At this time, in Praia, Portuguese Prime Minister Vasco Gonçalves handed over power to the President of the National Assembly, Avilio Duarte, and the independence of Cabo His Verde was declared.

Three years later, in 1978, the Blue Sharks played their first international match against Guinea, which ended in a 1-0 loss.

Blue Sharks aiming for even bigger bites

It took Cape Verde until the 2013 Afcon tournament to qualify for the tournament, where they incredibly defeated African powerhouse Cameroon on aggregate in the qualifiers to qualify for the tournament to be held in South Africa.

Cape Verde's third encounter with Bafana was reminiscent of their previous encounter in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, where Bafana still failed to qualify for the tournament and suffered an unfortunate defeat. This time, they took inspiration from those encounters and surprisingly secured a goalless draw in the group stage.

They added another valuable point against Morocco and picked up three points against Angola, clinching a place in the quarter-finals of the 16-team tournament.

And in 2017, the most recent encounter between Bafana and underdog Cape Verde took place during the qualifying campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

In the first leg at the Cape Verde Estadio in Praia, Tokelo Lanti gave Bafana, coached by Stuart Baxter in his second time as national team manager, an early lead. However, Nuno Rocha had other ideas and scored two goals within five minutes, recording a famous first victory over the South Africans.

The same result happened at Durban's iconic 2010 World Cup stadium, Moses Mabhida, with Gary Rodriguez scoring a double midway through the second half and Andile Hari scoring in the final minute.

Seven players from the Cape Verde squad were in the set-up today and will have the chance to do similar damage on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ronwen Williams, Percy Tau and Themba Zwane will also remember the heartache of that defeat and remind their teammates who were not part of the squad that day of what was a disappointing week for the national team.

Cape Verde touch Manchester United

As a result of historic Portuguese rule in Cape Verde, a significant number of the island's inhabitants share Portuguese heritage, and this connection extends to each other, with people of Portuguese descent also having connections to their Cape Verdean roots.

Nani, Manuel Fernandes and Ronaldo are among the notable figures with Cape Verdean roots who have chosen to represent Portugal at international level. Similarly, former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira decided to play for France, while Hendrik Larsson chose to play for Sweden, despite both players having the chance to represent Cape Verde. was.

One well-known figure, best known for his time with Manchester United, ultimately chose to represent Cape Verde and continues to do so to this day.

Bebe during his Manchester United days

Getty Images

Thiago Manuel Díaz Correia, popularly known as Bebe, spent four years with the Red Devils, but his appearances were limited, making just seven appearances before going on loan for a few games.

Initially representing Portugal at Under-21 level, Bebe expressed his desire to play for Cape Verde in 2019.

Moving on to the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Bebe made 20 appearances and scored six goals, developing into a key player for the Blue Sharks and contributing to their impressive journey through African football.