Much credit for Cape Verde’s performances must go to coach Bubista, a former international himself who has been in charge since January 2020.

A stable coaching set-up has allowed the 56-year-old former centre-back to build a compact and well-drilled side with an organised defence, technical midfielders and gifted forwards who upset Ghana and drew with Egypt during a run to the quarter-finals at Afcon 2023, having only made their tournament debut 10 years earlier.

They may have had Vozinha to thank for the seven saves the veteran goalkeeper made in the goalless draw with Spain, but their discipline was underlined by the fact the Blue Sharks only conceded one foul against the 2010 champions – the fewest recorded by a team in a World Cup match since 1966.

“We always train and play as one unit, so everything we did in the game was not our first time that we did it,” defender Sidny Lopes Cabral told the BBC World Service.

“For us, it’s our game. This is how we play, this is who we are.

“This is our personality as a team and as defenders.”

Cape Verde took a more attacking and expansive approach in their second Group H outing against Uruguay, but also demonstrated their steely resolve by grabbing a second-half equaliser.

“More important than the result is to be able to show our identity as a team, our strength, our unity, and also our resilience,” Bubista said.

Bubista was recognised for his achievement in delivering World Cup qualification by being named the continent’s coach of the year for 2025 by the Confederation of African Football.

He has always believed that his side had the potential to mix it with the world’s elite.

“We have done really well considering how small our country is,” he told BBC Sport Africa before the 2021 Afcon, when the Blue Sharks reached the last 16.

“I think in the future we’ll be at the World Cup.”

That bold prediction has come to pass, and now Bubista hopes Cape Verde’s achievements at the expanded tournament can inspire other underdogs around the globe.

“I believe that football belongs to everyone, or is for everyone,” he said.

Now, the hard work begins.

The German national team will face Paraguay in the World Cup Round of 32 on Monday at 4:30PM EDT in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

While Germany ended the group stage with a loss to Ecuador, overall, it was a good showing in terms of results (how the team actually looked in games is up for debate). The Germans won the group and earned this draw against Group D’s surprise third place team.

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Prior to that defeat at the hands of Ecuador, Germany toasted Curaçao 7-1 and escaped with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.

For Paraguay, it was a shock entry into the knockouts as Türkiye flamed out horribly. Paraguay got smoked by the USMNT 4-1 in its opener before rebounding with a 1-0 win over the Turks and a 0-0 draw with Australia.

By virtue of those four points, Paraguay advanced.

Germany should be favored heavily vs. Paraguay. If the Germans advance, a matchup with France could be waiting in the Round of 16.

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WWE is now signing a huge new star who is seemingly going to be added to the Bloodline and may be involved with Roman Reigns. The signing has been a long time coming, with fans knowing that he has been on the horizon for some time, even though the signing itself had not happened yet.

WWE is signing a blockbuster new star who may become involved with Roman Reigns soon

A report from Fightful Select has revealed that WWE is currently set to sign a blockbuster new star. Zilla Fatu is on the horizon for a new WWE contract, with the current plan being to sign him if he has not already signed one. The star was at the WWE Performance Center recently and was going through the process to sign a new contract.

The star is only 26 years old and is the son of WWE legend Umaga. Prior to this signing, he had worked in Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling promotion, where he was one of the top names out there. There has been a lot of speculation surrounding WWE signing him for several years now, but it has only happened recently, as per the report. The star was a big name in House of Glory, holding titles there.

That star would also be the latest member of Roman Reigns’ Bloodline family tree to join the promotion. Very rarely has a Bloodline star been signed to the company and then not been involved with Roman Reigns in some shape or form. With Reigns recently reforming the Bloodline as well, he could be involved with the star very soon.

Of the Bloodline, Jacob Fatu, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Solo Sikoa are under contract now, and through extended non-blood family, Tama and Talla Tonga are involved as well. Now, Tama and Talla left Sikoa, so Zilla Fatu’s arrival may be part of the story, but it’s not confirmed.