Vozinha of Cabo Verde gestures during the FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 32 football match between Argentina and Cabo Verde. Argentina won 3-2 over Cabo Verde after extra time. Photo: VCG

"Cape Verde lost the match but won the world" became a trending hashtag on Chinese social media after football giant Argentina narrowly defeated the African island nation 3-2 in extra time. Little known to many Chinese before the tournament, Cape Verde has now captured public attention with its spirited World Cup run, including travel agencies' data that searches for Cape Verde as a destination surged by more than 200 percent week on week.

Cape Verde didn't win a match at the World Cup, and somehow, that didn't seem to matter. The African team's debut on this stage was unforgettable, thanks largely to the 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who nearly engineered a soccer story that would have been counted among the greatest upsets in sports history, according to NPR. 

Cape Verde's magical ride ended Friday in the Round of 32, with the Blue Sharks falling to Lionel Messi and defending World Cup champion Argentina - as most expected. Final score: Champions 3, Cinderellas 2, in extra time - as probably very few expected.

Despite the defeat, Cape Verde's brave performance has been trending on Chinese social media. Hashtag "Argentina VS Cape Verde" has garnered more than 410 reads as of press time. "A team's quality should not be judged by victory or defeat alone. Cape Verde left everything on the pitch, with no regrets. That spirit mattered far more than the scoreline," Sina Weibo user under the name "nideweinijie" wrote. 

Some Chinese netizens also expressed enthusiasm for visiting the island country, which had previously remained little known in China. 

Data sent to the Global Times from Trip.com Group, one of China's biggest travel agency showed that, as of late June, searches for Cape Verde had surged 388 percent year on year and 852 percent from the previous month. Flight bookings to the island nation rose 76 percent from a year earlier, while hotel bookings increased 46 percent.

According to data that another online travel agency, Tongcheng Travel, in the 24 hours after the July 4 match between Argentina and Cape Verde, search interest in Cape Verde as a destination jumped more than 200 percent week on week, with users in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shandong showing the strongest interest.

Inquiries for customized tours to West Africa also rose, with demand growing rapidly for linked itineraries such as "Cape Verde + Lisbon" and "island-hopping trips in Cape Verde." Data from HopeGoo, the international platform under Tongcheng Travel, also showed that searches for connecting flights from Hong Kong to Cape Verde via Europe rose about twelvefold week on week.

"I really want to visit Cape Verde someday - to see this tiny nation whose resilience is so much greater than its size," Ma Sichun, a Chinese actress wrote on her social media on Saturday after the match. "Football has never belonged only to the winners. I know my heart is with Argentina, yet I still found myself in tears as Vozinha produced one stunning save after another, and as Cape Verde's Sidny Lopes Cabral, after scoring a breathtaking strike, sprinted through the crowd to the stands and wrapped his lover in a fierce embrace. It was a moment that captured everything beautiful about this unforgettable team."

Discussion of Cape Verde's fighting spirit has also resonated widely in China. In a commencement speech at Westlake University on Saturday, Shi Yigong, the university's president, cited the island nation's World Cup run as an example of perseverance. With a population of just 540,000, Cape Verde reached the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time and produced one of the tournament's biggest surprises by advancing from the group stage, Shi said. 

Although it was narrowly beaten by Argentina, he added, its spirited performance won widespread admiration.

"I want to thank every Chinese person that support us. Thank you to all this Chinese community for the love that they show us." The Cape Verde national team thanked its Chinese fans before departing the US following its World Cup campaign on July 4, local time, according to China News Service.

Cape Verde's Ambassador to China, Arlindo do Rosário, was also impressed by the affection between the two peoples. "Football possesses such power: it can unite people's hearts and further consolidate the profound friendship already shared between the peoples of the two countries," he said, according to media reports.