2026 World Cup: Cape Verde sets an exceptional record

09.07.26 FT World Cup

France

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Morocco

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Cape Verde is undoubtedly the biggest sensation of the World Cup.

The Blue Sharks stunned the football world by qualifying for the round of 16, before narrowly falling to Argentina (2-3) after extra time.

With an average of 108.9 kilometers run per match, the African side tops the leaderboard for the most distance covered per game among all national teams.

They outpaced Germany (108.7 km), Australia (108.3 km), Senegal (105.5 km), Scotland (105.4 km), Saudi Arabia (105.1 km), Czechia (105.1 km), Turkey (104.5 km), Paraguay (104.2 km), and Uzbekistan (103.9 km).

As a reminder, Cape Verde collected three points in the group stage, drawing with Spain (0-0), Uruguay (2-2), and Saudi Arabia (0-0).

Thanks to this impressive performance, Cape Verde climbed to 13th place among African nations in the FIFA rankings.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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