The joy and wonder of Cabo Verde's unlikely World ...
Key takeaways
- Cabo Verde, the third-smallest tournament qualifier ever by population, and the second smallest by land area, had touched down to begin a debut World Cup campaign.
- The players would not emerge but would board a bus directly from inside Logan.
- The revelers frowned briefly, one by one, as word spread.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Searching for a lovable underdog to cheer for this World Cup? Look no further than Cabo Verde. PATRICK MEINHARDT/AFP/Getty Images Chuck Culpepper Jun 14, 2026, 08:00 AM ETClose Chuck Culpepper is an Enterprise writer for ESPN. He has written from 10 Olympics and one camel race, four World Cups and one tractor pull, 61 college football playoff or bowl games and one mule-race training ground, 25 tennis majors and one motocross race, 51 golf majors and two taekwondo events, 25 men's or women's Final Fours and one round-the-world sailing race, 12 Super Bowls and one croquet pitch.Multiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe first hint of World Cup wonder concerning one tiny nation arose in the mid-afternoon of June 2 at Logan Airport in Boston in a vast room freighted with human meaning: international arrivals. That's where a hundred-strong throng carried flags and held up scarves and sang songs, and somebody brought along a whistle. Any everyday people standing nearby, holding flowers and balloons for incoming travelers, might have wondered: What is this Cabo Verde, and why is it so euphoric?
Cabo Verde, the third-smallest tournament qualifier ever by population, and the second smallest by land area, had touched down to begin a debut World Cup campaign. The dreamy truth really was the dreamy truth for a country with a past both heartbreaking and uplifting. The players would file out from customs for a cascade of love from a portion of the largest Cabo Verdean diaspora in the United States -- around 70,000 in Massachusetts, 21,000 in Rhode Island -- some of whom had driven irksome distances through the Boston gauntlet.
But, then: An airport official materialized. The players would not emerge but would board a bus directly from inside Logan.