Cape Verde's remarkable football revolution

Despite being a relatively unknown force until recently,

Cape Verde's rapid progress owes nothing to luck, however. Instead, the national side have built their climb up the ranking on a series of excellent results in a short space of time, outstripping their African rivals with their success on the pitch.

One member of that Portuguese contingent is Tiago Almeida, and

"Now, every player dreams of wearing the national-team shirt. The players have all said yes to selection since the team first qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and reached the quarter-finals before losing with honour to Ghana. That explains why we have some top-quality players."

FIFA.COM