Anthony Nlebem
Cape Verde qualified for the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the first time after narrowly beating Mauritania in a thrilling encounter at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium on Monday.
A late penalty by Ryan Mendes gave the Blue Sharks a 1-0 victory over The Almoravids in the last 16 fixture.
The match was almost heading towards extra time when Cape Verde won a spot-kick and captain Mendes converted with just two minutes of the 90 remaining to break Mauritania’s resistance.
The Blue Sharks then held on through 10 added minutes to advance to a quarter-final on Saturday in Yamoussoukro against either Morocco or South Africa, who meet in the last 16 on Tuesday.
The tiny Atlantic Ocean island nation had got out of their group in two of their three previous appearances at the AFCON but had never before won a knockout tie.
“We are proud of everything we have done up to now. We always tried to win the game and we thoroughly deserved the victory,” said Cape Verde coach Pedro ‘Bubista’ Brito, who believes his side can go further still in the tournament.
“We have our objective, which from day one has been to get to the semi-finals.
“We are one step away from that now and we are going to keep going, while staying humble and respecting our opponents, but we believe. That is our focus and we are going to try and get there.”
Mauritania had been hoping to extend their fine run in Ivory Coast, after they won a Cup of Nations match for the first time in nine attempts in their last group game, beating Algeria to eliminate one of the continent’s powerhouses.
But a side coached by Amir Abdou, who took tiny Comoros to the last 16 in Cameroon two years ago, will go no further after failing to find a way past Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha.
“Unfortunately we have lost to a ridiculous goal, which showed our naivety,” said Abdou.
“But we will nevertheless take positives from this, from our run, and we will be back in a year.”
