Cape Verde continued its historic FIFA World Cup journey on Monday as Sidny Lopes Cabral’s spectacular goal was voted the tournament’s best by fans.
Lopes Cabral earned the honour for his brilliant curling strike into the top corner against defending champions Argentina during Cape Verde’s thrilling Round of 32 clash in Miami Gardens. The goal levelled the match at 2-2 in extra time, although Cape Verde eventually suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat.
His remarkable effort was selected as the best among the 308 goals scored during the tournament. It finished ahead of Eldor Shomurodov’s delicate lob for Uzbekistan against Congo and Wilson Isidor’s powerful strike for Haiti against Morocco.
FIFA had shortlisted 12 goals for the public vote, with voting closing on Monday before Lopes Cabral’s strike was announced as the winner.
The Cape Verde forward’s celebration also became one of the tournament’s most memorable moments. After scoring, he broke away from celebrating teammates, climbed into the stands to embrace his girlfriend, and searched for his mother.
Speaking after the match, Lopes Cabral revealed that he had promised both his mother and girlfriend before kick-off that he would celebrate with them if he scored.
“Before the game, I’d told my mom and my girlfriend that if I scored, I’d run over to them,” he said. “When I got there, I saw my mom crying. She hadn’t even realized I was right there. Everyone was busy tending to her because she had fainted when I scored.”
Cape Verde enjoyed a memorable debut FIFA World Cup campaign, pushing both finalists to the limit during its four matches. The team had already made headlines in its opening game after goalkeeper Vozinha delivered an outstanding performance to secure a goalless draw against eventual champions Spain.
