Cape Verde have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations quarter finals for the first time in their history on Monday as a late Ryan Mendes penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Mauritania in the last 16.
The match at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan was drifting towards extra time when Cape Verde won a spot-kick and captain Mendes converted with just two minutes of the 90 remaining to break Mauritania’s resistance.
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The Blue Sharks then held on through 10 added minutes to advance to a quarter-final on Saturday in Yamoussoukro against either Morocco or South Africa, who meet in the last 16 on Tuesday.
The tiny Atlantic Ocean island nation had got out of their group in two of their three previous appearances at the AFCON, but had never before won a knockout tie.
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