The time is nigh.
After three electric draws in the group stage, Cabo Verde’s men’s national team is slated to play Argentina in the Round of 32 Friday night, July 32.
Cabo Verde’s mens national team has taken the world by storm after holding Spain to a draw in its first group stage match and continuing a strong showing against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. What began simply as the country’s World Cup debut is now a deep historic run.
The story is especially resonant in Brockton, which is home to the most Cape Verdean residents of any city in the United States.
The team’s run so far has made waves in the community, with large crowds supporting the team at watch parties and celebrations following each game.
Here’s what to know ahead of kickoff and how the story has unfolded in Brockton so far:
Where is Cabo Verde?
The Republic of Cape Verde is a country consisting of a group of islands off the west coast of Africa.
Some call the country Cabo Verde. Others call it Cape Verde. Cabo Verde is the official name of the country, a Portuguese phrase that translates to green cape.
What’s the population on Cabo Verde?
Cape Verde’s population is estimated around 490,000, according to the U.S. Department of State.
How is Cabo Verde connected to Brockton?
Cape Verdean representation in the World Cup resonates with many in the area.
The Brockton area is home to nearly 20,000 Cape Verdean residents, the most of any city in the United States, according to census estimates. Massachusetts also has the most Cape Verdeans of any state.
Why is Brockton ‘the 11th island of Cape Verde?’
Cape Verdeans have lived in New England since at least the early 1800s, primarily in New Bedford and Providence, where seafaring economies attracted Cape Verdean men who could board whaling and package ships in need of labor before crossing the Atlantic. Starting in the 1920s until they were repealed in 1965, federal immigration quotas limited new arrivals. For the new wave of Cape Verdean immigrants that followed, Boston was a popular destination.
Luis Martins, the owner of one of Brockton’s busiest real estate brokerages, was raised in a Cape Verdean community in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. In 1986, Martins’ grandfather sold his triple-decker to cash in on rising property values, Martins told The Enterprise in 2020, relocating the family to Brockton. Close to 40 other Cape Verdean families followed around the same time, Martins said.
Located between Providence, New Bedford and Boston, Brockton was a natural destination, Martins said, allowing families to stay within a short drive of relatives in other cities while holding onto their jobs in Boston.
Martins earned his realtor’s license in 2012. He told The Enterprise in 2020 his clientele was predominantly homebuyers of color looking for their first home.
“There’s nothing under $300,000 that’s habitable in any of the towns surrounding Boston right now,” Martins said in 2020, “But in Brockton, you might find a couple.”
Martins said he’d helped hundreds of African American and Cape Verdean families move from Boston to Brockton, which now houses the largest Cape Verdean community in the United States, according to the census data.
In an interview with The Enterprise in 2019, a young woman crowned queen of the carnival celebration in her family’s hometown of Sao Vicente called Brockton the “11th island of Cape Verde.”
40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha brings unlikely star power for Cabo Verde following Spain match
Before Cabo Verde faced Spain, the goalie had 45,000 followers on Instagram. He now sits at 17.5 million and counting.
Vozinha was in shock after seeing the rise in followers following the game. At the time, he was nearing two million.
“Crazy,” he said.
Cape Verde’s World Cup appearance is a historic run for the country
The Cape Verde men’s national team has made history this year, as this is the first time ever the team has qualified for the World Cup.
“Consistency and a competitive mindset were key components of Cabo Verde’s successful CAF qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup 26, which bore the fruits of a long-term project,” FIFA said on its website.
“There were promising signs in previous campaigns, despite not managing to get over the line. In their qualification campaign for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, for example, they fought a fierce battle with Nigeria – one of the powerhouses of African football – but were ultimately eliminated in the last match of the group phase, their fate sealed with a 1-1 draw in Lagos.”
Goalkeeper Vozinha gets mural outside Luanda Restaurant in Brockton
Luanda Restaurant is garnering attention after unveiling a mural painted of Vozinha, the goalkeeper of Cabo Verde’s men’s national soccer team. Vozinha‘s social media presence skyrocketed following an impressive World Cup debut in which he and the team held Spain to a scoreless draw.
Videos of the mural have received tens of thousands of reactions online.
Shootings in Brockton amid World Cup celebrations lead to city curfew for team’s Round of 32 game
Mayor Moises Rodrigues announced there will be a curfew in Brockton on the evening of Friday, July 3, the night of Cabo Verde’s Round of 32 match against Argentina.
At least 11 people victims were injured — nine shot and two stabbed — over two nights of violence tied to large-scale World Cup celebrations in Brockton on June 21 and June 26. At least half were identified as city residents, police said.
“Recent World Cup celebrations have resulted in incidents of reckless driving, illegal street gatherings, vandalism assaults, fireworks violations, disorderly conduct and other criminal activities that have endangered the public’s safety and strained emergency response resources,” the mayor said at a press conference Wednesday.
The curfew is set to begin at 10 p.m. Friday, July 3, four hours after game time.
When is Cape Verde’s match against Argentina?
Cabo Verde takes on Argentina, Friday, July 3 at 6 p.m. The round of 32 is a knock-out round and games can’t end in ties. One team will move on to the round of 16, and one will be eliminated after Wednesday’s game.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Cape Verde World Cup debut has rocked Brockton. The story so far
