Cafu: Cape Verde's draw with Spain shows shrinking World Cup gap

Cafu, captain of Brazil's 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning team, wrote for La Gazzetta dello Sport about the current FIFA World Cup, stating: "The gap used to be much wider. Now, Cape Verde can legitimately draw with Spain; the situation has changed."

Cafu wrote: "The opening rounds of this FIFA World Cup have sent an important signal: international football has never been this competitive. Looking at the matches so far, the improvement in weaker national teams' performance is undeniable. Nowadays, playing against teams that are supposedly weaker on paper is no longer a formality for any team, even the strongest ones."

"As a former player, I had the privilege of competing in the FIFA World Cup and top-level international competitions. I can say that the gap between strong teams and emerging national teams used to be far more significant. Back then, there was certainly organization and quality, but it was rare to see underdogs compete for 90 minutes against star-studded teams. Now, the situation is different. The most obvious example is Spain. For many years, Spain has represented the benchmark for technique, tactical organization, and playing style, but when they faced Cape Verde, the latter successfully defied expectations."