New Delhi, June 27 -- Cape Verde demonstrated that small can still be big in the unforgiving environment of elite sport.

Scripting one of the great underdog stories in sporting history, the second-smallest nation in the World Cup - a group of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast with a population of around 500,000 - qualified for the Round of 32, that too unbeaten.

Cape Verde became the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup's knockout rounds.

In a group led by tournament favourites Spain and two-time former winners Uruguay, the unfancied debutants held a listless Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw at Houston Stadium in some take-off for the African side.

Having grabbed global headlines by holding Spain to a goall...