"Yuri Marley Fernandes, 14, is a forward at EPIF. He talks like someone who expects to play on football's biggest stage. "It's my dream," he says. "Football is beautiful and I can play. I can win a World Cup. I play very well. I'm a forward—very fast—and my goals are beautiful.""
Cape Verde, with just over half a million people, qualified for the World Cup for the first time after a 3-0 win over Eswatini. The qualification triggered widespread celebration across the country, changing how Cape Verdeans view football. Youth academy leader Pedro Bettencourt says expectations for young players have risen sharply, with qualification making their dreams feel more attainable. At EPIF training in Santa Cruz, 14-year-old forward Yuri Marley Fernandes describes playing on football’s biggest stage as his dream, emphasizing speed and scoring. Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands and has a large diaspora, so the national team includes players from Europe, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
Read at www.npr.org
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