A win over Saudi Arabia would send Cape Verde to the round of 32 at the World Cup

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Here's something that very few could have reasonably expected coming into this World Cup: Cape Verde controls its own destiny with one match left in group play.

That's right. With a win on Friday against Saudi Arabia, the tiny nation of about 500,000 people and about 15 million new Instagram followers will be headed to the round of 32. Even a draw might be — should be — enough to earn a spot in the knockout round.

The Blue Sharks were long shots entering the World Cup; some books had them at no better than 12% to advance from the group stage. They're currently favored to move on.

“It's in our hands,” defender Roberto Lopes said. “We have to go and take it.”

A pair of draws — first against Spain to begin group play, then rallying for a 2-2 result against Uruguay on Sunday — has Cape Verde still searching for its first win in its initial World Cup appearance. Still, the team is in an ideal position.

Spain leads Group H with four points. Uruguay and Cape Verde are next with two points each, while Saudi Arabia is last with one point. The top two teams from each group advance to the round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams in the 12 groups.

A win over Saudi Arabia by Cape Verde would give it five points; it would then be mathematically certain to be no worse than second in the group. A draw would give the team three points; that, combined with a Spain win over Uruguay, would also assure a second-place finish in group play.

“One game at a time,” Cape Verde backup goalkeeper CJ dos Santos said. “This is just another challenge for us.”

There is a real chance that if Cape Verde beats Saudi Arabia, its reward would be a round of 32 game against Lionel Messi and defending World Cup champion Argentina.

And the interest in that game would be overwhelming, if it happened. On one side, there would be Messi, the biggest draw in the sport and possibly the biggest draw right now in any sport. On the other, there would be a team that the world seems to have adopted — the improbable story, replete with a 40-year-old goalkeeper whose mother needed help just to obtain a visa and fly to the U.S. to watch her son play on soccer's grandest stage.

More than half of the team was born somewhere other than Cape Verde; Kevin Pina, who scored against Uruguay, spent part of his youth living in Massachusetts, which has the largest concentration of the Cape Verdean diaspora in the U.S.

That stems from how in the 1800s, Cape Verdeans found work on American whaling vessels in the Atlantic and eventually settled in port cities in states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“We come from a country of immigrants,” Cape Verde coach Bubista said. “We want every child and every young person to feel proud to represent their country. We want our success to make them want to represent Cape Verde.”

At Luanda Restaurant in Brockton, Massachusetts, Cape Verde’s first World Cup match became an afternoon of nervous cheering as customers gathered around televisions; some fans even brought laptops so they could work remotely from the restaurant without missing the game against Spain.

Every save by 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha — whose stardom has risen immeasurably during this tournament — drew louder reactions inside the restaurant. Owner Amélia Goncalves said she tried to work while screaming, laughing and nearly crying, noting that Vozinha's story resonates with the Cape Verdean community.

“If you work hard, it's possible,” Goncalves said.

The team has worked hard. The round of 32 is very possible now. A tiny country with big hopes is poised for its biggest sports moment.

“Now nobody can ask, ‘Where is Cape Verde?’” said 22-year-old Micaelle Nunes, one of the soccer revelers in Brockton. “The whole world will know.”

The players are aware of the celebrations. They know that, in some ways, they have become a sentimental favorite all over the globe. Their story is easy to appreciate and the way they play has drawn applause even from fans in opposing jerseys.

A 12% chance is on the brink of coming through.

“We had a big journey here,” Lopes said. “Now that we're here, we can't change.”

Associated Press writer Leah Willingham in Brockton, Massachusetts, and Zach Pascuzzi in Miami Gardens, Florida, contributed to this story. Pascuzzi is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup

Cape Verde players celebrate after the World Cup Group H soccer match against Uruguay in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Cape Verde fans react following the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Cape Verde supporters celebrate after they watched the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde at a restaurant at a Cape Verde community in Brockton, Mass. near Boston, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Cape Verde's Diney Borges (3) and Uruguay's Brian Rodriguez (18) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Cape Verde supporters celebrate their side's second goal as they watch the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde at a restaurant at a Cape Verde community in Brockton, Mass. near Boston, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted through a mixed day of trading on Monday after oil prices eased and falling Big Tech stocks weighed on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, coming off its 11th winning week in the last 12, and pulled 1.8% below its all-time high set early this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.3%.

In the oil market, prices fell following talks over the weekend between the United States and Iran on their war. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said they created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.”

An end to the war could clear the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers and allow for the undisputed resumption of deliveries from the Persian Gulf. Iran’s military had said Saturday that it closed the Strait of Hormuz again, though U.S. Central Command has disputed that.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52, closer to its roughly $70 price from before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to $73.86 per barrel.

The lower oil prices, though, did not pull down Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields have been climbing because of speculation the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates this year to keep a lid on inflation, which has been accelerating because of expensive oil caused by the Iran war. Economists expect a report on Thursday to show a measure of inflation for U.S. consumers sped up to 4.1% in May from 3.8% in April.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.50% from 4.46% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war.

Traders are betting on a nearly 90% chance the Fed will raise its federal funds rate at least once by the end of the year, with a small minority calling for four increases. That’s up from the 57% chance seen just a week ago, according to data from CME Group.

High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the pressure on companies whose stock prices have soared in the mania around artificial-intelligence technology.

SpaceX fell 16.4% to $154.60. It’s the third straight drop for the company behind xAI since a big three-day run following its ballyhooed debut on the U.S. stock market, when it initially sold its stock at $135 per share.

The day’s heaviest weights on the S&P 500 included drops of 5% for Alphabet, 4.7% for Amazon and 4.5% for Broadcom.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, AbbVie climbed 6.2% after saying it agreed to buy Apogee Therapeutics and its potential treatments for patients with dermatologic, respiratory and other related inflammatory and immunological diseases.

Apogee Therapeutics soared 46.7% following the announcement of the deal, valued at roughly $10.9 billion.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 27.79 points to 7,472.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148.01 to 51,712.71, and the Nasdaq composite fell 351.33 to 26,166.60.

In stock markets abroad, the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% after Keir Starmer said he was stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% and ended at another all-time high, led by AI stocks. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7% to its own record, helped by AI-related companies.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott and AP Senior Producer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

Options trader Joseph D'Arrigo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Options trader Doran Swan works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)