On July 4th, FIFA World Cup newcomer Cape Verde national team fought for 120 minutes against defending champion Argentina national team in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, ultimately losing 2-3 and being eliminated.

Despite the regrettable exit, this "dark horse" making its debut in the FIFA World Cup finals earned the respect of the world with its resilient journey. After the match, a touching scene unfolded – a large number of Argentine fans spontaneously gathered in the stands above the player tunnel to applaud and pay tribute to the Cape Verdean players who were about to leave.

In this tournament, Cape Verde continued to create surprises from the group stage. In their first match against favorites Spain, they showed extremely strong defensive organization, resisting the opponent's continuous pressure throughout the game, and ultimately drew 0-0 with the strong team, causing a major upset early in the tournament. Goalkeeper Vozinha made 7 crucial saves throughout the match, almost single-handedly keeping a clean sheet.

In the second round against Uruguay, Cape Verde still stubbornly counterattacked in a passive situation, eventually drawing 2-2 with the opponent, not only maintaining their unbeaten streak but also scoring their first and second goals in the FIFA World Cup finals in their history.

In the final round against Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde continued to demonstrate a mature defensive system and game control, ending in another 0-0 draw. After three matches, they ranked second in the group with 3 draws and 3 points, historically entering the knockout stage.

Entering the Round of 16 against the strong Argentina, Cape Verde still did not collapse. They fell behind twice and equalized twice, only narrowly losing 2-3 at the very last moment.

Although they stopped at the Round of 32, Cape Verde's performance of remaining unbeaten in regular time in all 4 matches in this FIFA World Cup is enough to be etched in the tournament's memory. And the applause from the Argentine fans after the match became the most moving footnote to this journey.

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