Cabral suspended as Cape Verde face Saudi Arabia decider

Cabral suspended for the Saudi Arabia decider

Sidny Lopes Cabral will miss Saturday's match against Saudi Arabia through suspension (1). The Benfica youngster picked up his second yellow card of the group stage against Uruguay. That one hurts, Cabral has been a key part of the backline that held Spain goalless and limited Uruguay to two.

Your team still has Roberto Lopes and Kevin Lenini available at the back, and Bubista has options to shuffle (1) (4).

The equation is simple

Beat Saudi Arabia on Saturday and Cape Verde are through to the last 16. After the 2–2 draw with Uruguay on Monday and the 0–0 against Spain on June 15th, your team sits in control of its own fate (1) (2).

Bubista kept it direct: "passar à fase de grupos é o objetivo", advancing from the group is the objective (2).

Kevin Pina's story cuts deeper than the free-kick

That 2–2 equaliser against Uruguay was Cape Verde's first-ever World Cup goal, and Kevin Pina made it personal afterwards. He dedicated it to his daughter and then broke down talking about his mother (3).

"Posso citar a minha mãe. Meu pai viajou para os Estados Unidos, nos deixou com quase 2 anos de idade. Eu cresci sem pai," Pina said. He described growing up in an area with violence and drugs, and how his mother raised him alone. "Foi pai e mãe", she was both father and mother. He does not blame his father, he said. He just knows who made him (3).

Krasnodar later showed training-ground footage of Pina practicing that exact free-kick routine. It was no accident.

Fan-reaktioner

The Copa90 feature on Cape Verde is making the rounds, and the title says it: a 525,000-person nation shocking world football. The thread is full of neutrals adopting the Tubarões Azuis as their second team, and Cape Verdean fans making it clear this is not a fluke. The belief is real.

COPA90 feature on r/soccer