Cape Verde is a small island nation located off the coast of Africa. Its population is just over 524,800 and each one of them had to have been jubilant following their soccer team’s FIFA World Cup result against Spain.

Spain is one of the favorites to win the World Cup this year, but only picked up one point in their match against Cape Verde. The two sides came to a 0-0 tie on Monday in one of the biggest shockers of the tournament so far.

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Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha kept Spain at bay in the first half despite an onslaught of shots. Spain had seven shots on goal, compared to Cape Verde’s one, but could never find the back of the net.

Mikel Oyarzabal took five of the seven shots.

Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal started the game off the bench, but even he couldn’t find the shot to get past Cape Verde.

The two squads will come away with one point each in the Group H matchup. It makes the road for Spain that much difficult as they await the result from the Saudi Arabia-Uruguay matchup later Monday.

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Cape Verde is making its first World Cup appearance. The nation was a part of Portugal when the World Cup first began. It didn’t immediately become a FIFA member either.

The country started to vie for a World Cup appearance in 2002. They didn’t qualify for the tournament until this year as the field expanded to 48 nations.

Cape Verde is ranked 67th among FIFA members.

Spain won the World Cup in 2010 when the tournament took place in South Africa. In the last two tournaments, the nation only got as far as the round of 16.

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Spain entered this year’s World Cup ranked No. 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NFL quarterback Jameis Winston lent a helping hand on Sunday as Japanese soccer fans cleaned up trash around Dallas Stadium after the team came to a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands at the World Cup.

Videos posted to social media showed fans holding trash bags with the words “Japan Pride” emblazoned across them. The New York Giants quarterback, who is a FOX Sports soccer correspondent for the World Cup, was also seen cleaning up trash around the stadium.

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Japan earned a point in the group stage thanks to Daichi Kamada’s game-tying goal in the 88th minute of the match against the Dutch. The Samurai Blue fans were frenzied after the goal went into the back of the net.

“Our players managed to be tenacious but at the same time be patient and just keep calm and finding and seizing an opportunity,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said through an interpreter.

The Netherlands’ Virgil Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville scored off the post in the second half. Japan’s Keio Nakamura got one back minutes later. All three goals were scored in a 14-minute span.

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But conceding a goal late in the match was tough for the Dutch to swallow.

“It’s disappointing now because obviously conceding the lead is never good,” Van Dijk said. “It’s extra disappointing that we conceded from a set piece so late on.”

The Netherlands beat Japan in their only other World Cup matchup in 2010.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win, but that’s because we were ahead twice,” Koeman added. “Many people underestimated Japan, but for the 100,000th time, if you underestimate them, that’s your problem. You think Japan’s strength was overexaggerated before the match? Let’s wait until the end of the tournament to see who’s right.”

Japan made it to the elimination round in 2022 and 2018. They’ve never been past the round of 16.

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The Netherlands is the only country to reach the final three times without winning the World Cup. The squad made it to the quarterfinals in 2022 but lost to Argentina on penalties.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO — The toughest decision of the Sparks’ season to date is fast approaching.

Within the next few games, the team will have to decide whether they are going to keep fan-favorite Kate Martin around.

She joined the roster on a developmental contract at the start of the season after being waived by the Golden State Valkyries the day of roster releases. Developmental contracts were introduced this year as part of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.

Each team can carry up to two players on developmental deals. Those players are allowed to practice and travel with the team, but they can only be active for a maximum of 12 games during the season.

Typically, developmental players are used as emergency depth, stepping into the lineup only when injuries create a short-term need. That hasn’t been the case for Martin, who has been active for eight of the Sparks’ first 13 games, making her a regular part of the team’s plans.

“I’ve been activated for quite a few games and that is a blessing,” Martin said. “I feel very grateful to have been activated for so many games so far, but I think just like not knowing until like game day, trying to figure out, like, ‘Oh, am I going to be activated, am I not?’ I think that’s probably the biggest difference, but you know, they don’t treat me any differently.”

When given the opportunity, Martin has brought energy and impact off the bench. She is shooting 47.4% from the field and taking 1.6 shots from three-point range per game despite playing just 7.4 minutes. Martin often receives the loudest cheers from fans during home games.

She delivered her strongest offensive performance in a loss to the Tempo on May 17, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, but since then she has been used as a first-half rotation player to rest the Sparks guards as a reliable shooter and defender.

Even with the Sparks at full strength against the Portland Fire last week, Martin still earned eight minutes of play. Then she played four minutes in Saturday’s overtime win against Phoenix.

“We’re figuring it out in real time,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “These are new positions, and so each player only gets 12 games, but Kate does have experience. She is a spark off the bench. Everyone out there trusts her. There’s value to that. It’s hard, though, as a [developmental] player, to play one game and not play the next, and like it’s just hard for the rest of the group. So that part’s been tricky, and we’re figuring it out as we go.”

With seven active appearances already used, Martin has just four games remaining under the terms of her developmental contract. The Sparks must either preserve those appearances for later in the season or make a long-term commitment by signing her to a standard contract or she will become a free agent again.

The challenge is that Los Angeles does not currently have an open roster spot, meaning the team would need to waive a player to make room.

The Sparks’ Dearica Hamby and Kate Martin chest bump to celebrate after scoring against the Dallas Wings at Crypto.com Arena on June 5.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

Rookies Jihyun Park and 2026 second-round draft pick Ta’Niya Latson have both appeared in fewer games than Martin, as have veteran Emma Cannon and second-year forward Sania Feagin, who was injured earlier this season but hasn’t claimed a rotation spot since her return.

Martin was a regular part of the rotation with the Valkyries in her one season with the franchise, playing in 42 games and averaging 6.2 points per game and 31% shooting from three-point range. She was inconsistent at times, but also provided a spark off the bench and it was a surprise when they cut her.

After an emotional few days after being waived, Martin joined the Sparks, where she was excited for the opportunity to develop. Now, she sees herself as a fit beyond the 12-game limit.

“The system that we want to run at a very fast pace,” Martin said. “Spread the floor and shoot a lot of threes, and I think that I am good at spacing the floor, and I think that what they want to run here offensively benefits my game in a lot of ways, and I think I fit kind of seamlessly in that way.”