The African country, which played with Dutch-born Jamiro Monteiro (PEC Zwolle) and Dailon Livramento (Casa Pia) in the starting line-up, drew the World Cup qualifying match with Libya 3-3 in Tripoli. Cape Verde needed a win to qualify.
Already in the second minute, the Cape Verdeans faced a 1-0 deficit, after defender Roberto Lopes had put the ball into his own goal. After half an hour of play, Cape Verde came alongside through a goal from Telmo Arcanjo. Just before half time, Ezoo El Mariamy gave Libya the lead again: 2-1.
Centimeters off WC
In the second half, Mahmoud Eltaib Muftah Al Shalwi made it 3-1. Cape Verde fought back into the match and made it 3-2 thanks to a blunder by Libya’s goalkeeper.
In the hectic final phase, the visitors equalized: 3-3. In injury time, the Cape Verdeans had two more chances, but they were missed by a few centimeters. The flag was also wrongly flagged for offside.
Cape Verde will face Eswatini on Monday. The country can still qualify with a victory.