CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – When the FIFA World Cup wrapped its latest edition, one underdog moment rose above all 308 goals scored across the month-long tournament, securing its place in World Cup history. Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral was officially named the winner of the public-voted Goal of the Tournament on Monday, capping a breakout debut for the unranked African side that captured global soccer fans’ hearts.
Lopes Cabral’s unforgettable strike came in the tense round of 32 clash against defending World Cup champion Argentina in Miami Gardens. With the match deadlocked at 2-2 in extra time, he curled a precision strike into the far top corner of the net, sending the underdog side and neutral fans into a frenzy. The thrilling contest ultimately ended 3-2 in Argentina’s favor, but Lopes Cabral’s goal became the most talked-about moment of the entire knockout stage.
The goal beat out two other standout finalists to claim the honor: Eldor Shomurodov’s delicate lob for Uzbekistan against Congo, and Wilson Isidor’s blistering rising strike for Haiti against Morocco. FIFA first assembled a shortlist of 12 standout goals from across the tournament, and the public vote closed Monday, with Lopes Cabral pulling ahead by a clear margin.
Beyond the quality of the strike, Lopes Cabral’s celebration cemented the moment in World Cup legend. Breaking away from rushing teammates who sought to congratulate him, the forward climbed into the stands to hug his girlfriend first, before searching for his mother in the crowd. In an interview after the vote, he shared the emotional backstory of the celebration.
“Before the game, I’d told my mom and my girlfriend that if I scored, I’d run over to them,” Lopes Cabral said. “When I got there, I saw my mom crying. She hadn’t even realized I was right there. Everyone was busy tending to her because she had fainted when I scored.”
This World Cup marked a historic debut for Cape Verde, a small African nation that defied all pre-tournament expectations across its four matches. The side opened its first ever World Cup campaign with a stunning 0-0 draw against eventual champion Spain, a result powered by a standout clean sheet from goalkeeper Vozinha. They went on to push two-time World Cup finalist Argentina to the brink in their knockout clash, proving that underdog sides can compete with the world’s best on soccer’s biggest stage.