‘Everyone is talking about Cape Verde’: World Cup run delights diaspora community in UK

For as long as she can remember, 13-year-old Lauryn struggled to find a map that included Cape Verde . Now, to her great delight, the tiny African island nation is finally centre stage. “Seeing our country shown across the world at the World Cup makes me feel incredibly proud,” Lauryn says. “After the first match, everyone was talking about Cape Verde. People saw the talent and the skill of our players.” Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde as the diaspora community in the UK knows it, are having a historic run at their first ever World Cup. The African nation, made up of 10 islands, has defied expectations by holding its own against the tournament’s leading teams . Located in the Atlantic Ocean about 370 miles (600km) off the coast of mainland Africa , and with a population of just over 500,000, it is one of the smallest nations to compete at the tournament. Lauryn, who has already published her first book, Unsung, says she scrolled through social media before Cape Verde’s opening match against Spain. “There were lots of posts on social media saying Cape Verde only had a 1% chance of winning. But after everyone saw our goalkeeper’s performance, everything changed.” Goalkeeper Vozinha celebrates after Cape Verde’s draw with Uruguay. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock That 1% prediction has since become a rallying cry for the Cape Verdean diaspora in Britain, which is estimated to number in the low thousands. …