03/07/2026 09:20 - Entretenimiento
On July 3, 2026, at 19:00, the Argentine national team —a traditional football powerhouse and global champion— will face the national team of Cape Verde in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. This small African island nation, with barely 500,000 inhabitants, achieved a historic feat by qualifying second in Group H with three draws (against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia). By eliminating Uruguay along the way, it became the smallest country to reach this stage in 96 years of football history.
Beyond the pitch, Cape Verde is globally recognized for its cultural richness, especially thanks to the legendary Cesaria Evora (1941-2011), affectionately known as 'The Barefoot Diva'. She was the great ambassador of the morna, a melancholic and profound musical genre that was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2019.
Morna is the ultimate expression of 'sodade', a feeling of nostalgia and longing that defines the Cape Verdean soul. Evora catapulted this genre to the world with her album Miss Perfumado in 1992, selling 300,000 copies, and later winning a Grammy in 2004 for her acclaimed work Voz d'amor. For foreigners, listening to her music is the perfect way to understand the resilient and joyful spirit of this island nation.
According to an analysis published by Infobae, before this World Cup clash, what most of the world knew about Cape Verde came precisely from the exquisite voice of Cesaria Evora. Today, their football team is writing a new chapter of glory for this island nation, proving that passion has no limits.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
