The performances of Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations raised a few eyebrows, including those of DAN RAWLEY

THE Cape Verde Islands’ qualification for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations shocked many in the football world, and their brilliant run to the quarter-final represented a story threatening to rival fellow underdogs Zambia’s march to the ACON title last year.
Playing their first official match in January 1979, a 3-0 loss to fellow minnows Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde were affiliated to FIFA only in 1986. The country’s attempt to qualify for the ACON began eight y...