Cape Verde makes history again! A powerful long-range free kick scores the country's first-ever World Cup goal, sparking a wild team celebration

On June 22, Beijing time, a key Group H match of the World Cup kicked off between Cape Verde and Uruguay. In the 21st minute, Cape Verde once again made history by scoring their first World Cup goal as a nation.

In the opening round, Cape Verde caused a major shock by holding strong Spain to a 0-0 draw, earning their first-ever point in World Cup history. In this match, they surprised everyone once more.

In the 21st minute, they won a long-range free kick about 30 meters from goal. Kevin Pina, playing in the Russian Premier League, struck a spectacular shot directly into the net, giving Cape Verde a 1-0 lead over Uruguay.

Opta data shows that the expected goals (xG) for this free kick was only 0.04. Kevin Pina scored Cape Verde's first World Cup goal in the most explosive way possible.

After scoring, Kevin Pina and his teammates celebrated wildly. Pina's excitement was understandable, as this was Cape Verde's first-ever goal in World Cup history.

Pina also became the third African player in World Cup history to score directly from a free kick. Cape Verde also became the first team since records began in 1966 to score their first World Cup goal via a direct free kick.

After Cape Verde's historic first goal, all four debutants in this World Cup have now scored, with Cape Verde and Curaçao also achieving the goal of earning at least one point.

Unlike the Chinese men's national team 24 years ago, which ended their World Cup campaign with three losses, zero points, and zero goals, no debutant team in this World Cup will suffer such a dismal fate.