Cape Verde once again caused a surprise at the World Cup by grabbing a point against Uruguay. After the earlier draw against Spain, the World Cup debutant once again drew against a major footballing nation. Laros and Deroy Duarte are filled with pride, though the special adventure is slowly starting to feel normal.
Laros Duarte looked back on the match with a good feeling. "It was a really crazy match. I think also an enjoyable match for everyone. But honestly, I still need to process it a bit. Everything that happened." His brother Deroy also enjoyed the performance. "It's great to see that we can compete with such a big footballing nation, with players from clubs like Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid. We showed resilience and showed our level."
According to Deroy, the result didn't come completely out of nowhere. "I'll be honest with you: I'm not even that surprised. We've shown before that we can play against bigger teams and come back. For the outside world it might be surprising, but I did have the feeling that we could do something today."
Catharsis at historic goal
Cape Verde's first ever World Cup goal, scored by Kevin Pina, caused enormous emotions. "We know he has a good shot," said Deroy. "But the fact that he scores from that far out is still special. You immediately saw the emotion. Everyone jumped off the bench, the fans went wild. This is such a beautiful moment for our country." The fact that Cape Verde then also made it 2-2 completed the story. "It's actually indescribable. It's hard to really grasp everything that's happening."
The fact that former Uruguayan stars like Luis Suárez, Diego Forlán and Diego GodÃn were in the stands barely registered during the match. "Once you're on the pitch, you're just playing football," said Laros. "But afterwards you realize how big the stage really is. Then you do think: this is bizarre." Meanwhile, confidence within the squad is growing with each match. "Sure, they had chances. But if you look at the closing stages, we could have just won this too. That gives a lot of confidence."
Knockout stage within reach
Thanks to the draw, Cape Verde still has qualification for the knockout stage fully in their own hands. Saudi Arabia awaits in the final group match. "We can just win that match," said Laros. "We really have confidence in that." Deroy too looks ahead with confidence. "We simply have to win. We need to go onto the pitch with that mentality. If we bring the same as today, then I do feel we can win that match."
For the brothers, the best moment came in the 71st minute, when Laros came on as a substitute and both brothers were on the pitch together. "That's beautiful," said Deroy. "It's a dream come true. You suddenly realize: I'm just standing with my brother at a World Cup. And if he then pulls off a nice move, that only gives me more energy."
Laros could only agree with that feeling. "It actually feels a bit unreal. But at the same time also very normal, because we always used to play football together on the street and on the squares. Only now you're doing it on the biggest stage. That makes it very special. This is truly a boyhood dream."
