3 min readUpdated: Jul 4, 2026 12:47 PM IST
It would be a tough time for Diney Borges, whose own goal was the difference between Cape Verde and one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. He would think that the stellar defensive work of the group stages and even during the Round of 32 game against Argentina had been neutralized by one moment, which can only be described as bad luck. In fact, the inch-perfect corner from Lionel Messi and Borges’s unfortunate intervention could have been a copybook goal had it not been so cruel. If he hadn’t got his head – it seemed to be the arm – to the ball, Cristian Romero’s nod may or may not have found the corner of the net, but it’s a defender’s job to get in the way of an attacker’s effort on goal. A clean, unimpeded header from Romero would, very likely, have had the same result past the valiant Vozinha in the Cape Verde goal.
The 111th-minute mishap (from Cape Verde’s perspective) prevented the greatest chapter in the nascent history of the small archipelago off Africa’s western coast consisting of just around 500,000 people. Ironically, Borges was a key player in the previous biggest moment for Cape Verde football, being one of the rocks that held European champions Spain to a goalless draw in their first game of the tournament, that too while committing just one foul in the whole match.
He may have entered the World Cup as an unknown, like all his teammates, but the 31-year-old centre-back whose full name is Edilson Alberto Monteiro Sanches Borges, has built a solid professional career and is presently plying his trade in the UAE Pro League with Al Bataeh.
Born in Tarrafal on Santiago Island in Cape Verde, Borges has had spells in Morocco and Portugal before reaching the Gulf. He has been part of the national team since 2017.
“One of the best things to come from this World Cup is nobody asks where Cape Verde is on the map any more – this is history in itself for us. We’ve put ourselves on the map,” Borges’ centre-back partner Roberto Lopes told BBC Sport.
“We’re a small nation but with big hearts and we showed what is possible – and if you believe, you can achieve.”
Coach Bubista was disappointed with the outcome, but proud.
“We showed that we may be a small country but we can play against the best teams in the world That’s a reason for pride. We made history for our country. They can be proud for representing our country. To be able to play the way we did against the world champions, and to draw level twice, is something incredible,” he said after the heartbreak.
