In praise of the World Cup’s little guys
The bulky bully doesn’t always have the edge
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[LONDON] The inevitable was about to happen: Argentina would dispatch Cape Verde.
But then, deep into extra time, wonder struck: Sidny Lopes Cabral, aged 23 but looking 17, took a pass on the left flank and, instead of lobbing the ball in search of a header, shifted direction (sending the defender skidding the wrong way) and let fly a curling wonder of a shot that ended in the farthest and most unreachable corner of the Argentine goal.
A tiny island state of around a half-million people, pitted against the world champion. A player who a few years ago was trundling the soggy fields of Germany’s fifth division, now making football history. Even the most hard-bitten of Albiceleste fans had to admit it was a moment of beauty.
