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The underdogs of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have advanced to the round of 16, where Cape Verde will face defending champions Argentina. For FOX Sports’ Kasper Schmeichel, Cape Verde’s resilience reminded him of his own underdog story in the Premier League.
Schmeichel, a former goalkeeper for the Danish national team and Leicester City FC, recalled the emotions surrounding a heroic story like Cape Verde’s.
“You play without fear. You play for the joy of playing. I love the fact that, especially in football, it’s 11 against 11. Anything can happen on that day,” Schmeichel said on “World Cup Now”. “But what separates underdogs that achieve things for me is culture. Culture is the hardest thing to build and the easiest thing to break, one bad decision, it takes a bad person to disrupt it and destroy it.”
Schmeichel was Leicester City Player of the Season in 2017 and 2021 and won Danish Player of the Year on three occasions. In 2016, Schmeichel and Leicester City won the Premier League after opening the season at 5,000 to 1 odds.
Cape Verde stepped into the limelight after their shock 0-0 draw with Spain to start their World Cup campaign, with goalkeeper Vozinha recording seven saves. Since their debut on June 15, all eyes have been on Cape Verde. Notably, Vozinha has gained over 14 million followers on Instagram since their group stage performance.
Newly minted fan favorite Vozinha Dias from Cape Verde celebrates as the team qualified for the knockout stage. (Photo by Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Now, as the third smallest nation in the tournament, Cape Verde have made history for their country with their 32nd place finish.
“Having everyone on the same page, that’s the really difficult part. For us it was the connection with the club, with the fans, it was everything coming together at once…” Schmeichel said of his Leicester team. “It’s the synergy of everything that makes these incredible stories.”
In addition, the 0-0 draw also brought attention to the overall valuation of Cape Verde and Spain. In total, Cape Verde’s national team has a total transfer value of €54.4 million. (approx. $63.1 million). By comparison, Spain’s Lamine Yamal’s value rounds out to €200M (approx. $232.1M).
For Schmeichel, the passion and culture can easily outweigh the price tag.
“It’s not always about that. You win in different ways and you can succeed in different ways. What we see from Cape Verde… these underdog stories are the essence of sport,” Schmeichel said.
