WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A West Palm Beach man is reflecting on Cape Verde's historic World Cup run, after cheering on his tiny homeland from the stands in Miami.
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Eridjon Dacruz showed off his Cape Verde soccer jersey — the same one he wore to Miami Stadium last month to watch his home country face Uruguay.
"Amazing… crazy atmosphere. It was really fun being there," Dacruz said.
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Cape Verde was among the smallest nations to compete in the tournament, with a half million people living on an island chain off the coast of Africa.
It was an opening draw with powerhouse Spain that generated widespread excitement.
"Literally, I feel everyone on the planet was rooting for Cape Verde," Dacruz said.
Soccer
West Palm Beach fan to cheer on tiny island nation at the World Cup
Dacruz said he felt the atmosphere shift in Miami as the Tubarao Azul, Portuguese for Blue Sharks, scored their first ever World Cup goals in a 2-2 draw.
"We were outnumbered Cape Verdeans to Uruguayans to 80 to 20 percent. But we did the little stadium loud test and we were louder than them so I was like 'we might have a chance today,'" Dacruz said.
The Cinderella story ended in the first game of the knockout stage. Cape Verde took Argentina into extra time before falling 3-2.
"The most stressful I've ever been watching a soccer game ever," Dacruz said.
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Before the World Cup, Cape Verde was best known to South Floridians as the place where hurricanes form on their way across the Atlantic.
Dacruz said he is proud of the fight his team put up on the world stage.
"Seeing our flag on the actual pitch was a crazy experience," Dacruz said.
While at the game in Miami and FaceTiming relatives, I found out that Dacruz is actually a second cousin of one of the players on the team — truly, a small world.
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