Praia, June 16 -- "We are small, yes. But our hope is as vast as the sea." The words, writtenin Portuguese on a hand-held placard, rose above a crowd in Praia on Monday night as Cabo Verdeans celebrated a result that already felt larger than football.
Around the woman holding the sign, fans in blue national team jerseys waved Cabo Verdean flags, cheered, clapped and sang in the streets of the capital.
Hours earlier, Cabo Verde, a small Atlantic island country with a population of just over half a million, had held former world champion Spain to a 0-0 draw in its first-ever FIFA World Cup match. The draw earned Cabo Verde its first point at the tournament.
For Cabo Verdeans, it produced something more enduring: belief. Facing one of world...