MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Here’s something that very few could have reasonably expected coming into this World Cup: Cape Verde controls its own destiny with one match left in group play.That’s right. With a win on Friday against Saudi Arabia, the tiny nation of about 500,000 people and about 15 million new Instagram followers will be headed to the round of 32. Even a draw might be — should be — enough to earn a spot in the knockout round.The Blue Sharks were long shots entering the World Cup; some books had them at no better than 12% to advance from the group stage. They’re currently favored to move on.“It’s in our hands,” defender Roberto Lopes said. “We have to go and take it.”A pair of draws — first against Spain to begin group play, then rallying for a 2-2 result against Uruguay on Sunday — has Cape Verde still searching for its first win in its initial World Cup appearance. Still, the team is in an ideal position.Spain leads Group H with four points. Uruguay and Cape Verde are next with two points each, while Saudi Arabia is last with one point. The top two teams from each group advance to the round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams in the 12 groups.A win over Saudi Arabia by Cape Verde would give it five points; it would then be mathematically certain to be no worse than second in the group. A draw would give the team three points; that, combined with a Spain win over Uruguay, would also assure a second-place finish in group play.“One game at a time,” Cape Verde backup goalkeeper CJ dos Santos said. “This is just another challenge for us.”There is a real chance that if Cape Verde beats Saudi Arabia, its reward would be a round of 32 game against Lionel Messi and defending World Cup champion Argentina.And the interest in that game would be overwhelming, if it happened. On one side, there would be Messi, the biggest draw in the sport and possibly the biggest draw right now in any sport. On the other, there would be a team that the world seems to have adopted — the improbable story, replete with a 40-year-old goa …
