In a historic moment for Cape Verde, the tiny Atlantic Ocean island nation secured their first-ever victory in an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) knockout tie on Monday. The Blue Sharks triumphed over Mauritania with a 1-0 scoreline, courtesy of a late Ryan Mendes penalty at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan during the last 16 stage.

Cape Verde had previously advanced from their group in two out of three AFCON appearances but had never managed to secure a win in the knockout stages. The match against Mauritania was inching towards extra time when Cape Verde was awarded a crucial penalty. Captain Ryan Mendes stepped up and converted the spot-kick just two minutes before the end of regular time, breaking Mauritania’s resistance.

The Blue Sharks managed to hold on during the additional 10 minutes, sealing their passage to the quarter-finals. They will face either Morocco or South Africa in the next stage, with the latter two teams set to meet in the last 16 on Tuesday in Yamoussoukro.

Coach Pedro ‘Bubista’ Brito expressed pride in his team’s accomplishments, stating, “We are proud of everything we have done up to now. We always tried to win the game and we thoroughly deserved the victory.” He emphasized the team’s objective from the beginning, aiming to reach the semi-finals. Brito remained optimistic, saying, “We are one step away from that now, and we are going to keep going, while obviously staying humble and respecting our opponents, but we believe. That is our focus, and we are going to try and get there.”

Mauritania, hoping to build on their recent success in Ivory Coast, acknowledged the loss and highlighted the unfortunate nature of the decisive goal. Coach Abdou commented, “Unfortunately, we have lost to a ridiculous goal, which showed our naivety.” Despite the setback, he expressed optimism, saying, “But we will nevertheless take positives from this, from our run, and we will be back in a year’s time.”

Looking back at the match, Cape Verde appeared more likely to score as the minutes ticked down. Mendes had a close call with a header from a corner, well saved by Mauritania goalkeeper Babacar Niasse. The historic penalty was awarded when substitute Gilson Tavares Benchimol was brought down in the box by Niasse after intercepting a poor header from Mauritania defender Yassin El Welly. Mendes, representing Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk, confidently converted the penalty, securing his second goal of the tournament and making history for Cape Verde.