Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? This is more than a rhetorical question. It calls into question our worth, our potential, our limits, and the reason for our being.All questions deserve answers. As rhetorical as it may seem, respondents either agree to the demeaning and condescending question or show outward defiance.In John 1:46, where this question was first posed by Nathanael, Philip replied, “Come and see.” The “come and see” open invitation by Philip, though made centuries ago, is an evergreen invitation. We saw glimpses of the Cape Verdeans in their matches against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.From three matches, we came and saw, but the words to describe what we’ve seen couldn’t form in our heads. This was not the case on Friday, July 3, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. We saw the Cape Verde national team, which Mardonius, a Persian general, may call a ragtag army, while describing the Greeks, going toe to toe against a well-drilled football team, and three-time World Cup winner, Argentina. The former Swedish international, Zlatan Ibrahimović, was so impressed with the Cape Verdeans, saying, “I can stand there and give applause to Cape Verde because it was all about Cape Verde. Small island with big dreams, and they almost threw out the big giant.” Yet big nations with huge football heritage, like Nigeria and Italy, are at home going back to a non-existent drawing board to qualify for the next festival of football.If what we saw from the Cape Verdeans in the group stage is defiance, what they displayed against Argentina, led by Messi, one of football’s greats, is nothing but unadulterated defiance.Defiance and the underdog are like chemicals heated in the crucible. But as the heating increases, their colouration becomes more evident. The underdog squares up with the giant with timidity, knowing full well it is going to lose. Its motivation is the applause from the public that naturally tends to support an underdog against giants. For defiance, it fights not on the terms of the giant. It does not wait for the applause of the crowd. Its motive is to slay the giant and become the buzzword on every lip.Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] All questions deserve answers. As rhetorical as it may seem, respondents either agree to the demeaning and condescending question or show outward defiance.In John 1:46, where this question was first posed by Nathanael, Philip replied, “Come and see.” The “come and see” open invitation by Philip, though made centuries ago, is an evergreen invitation. We saw glimpses of the Cape Verdeans in their matches against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.From three matches, we came and saw, but the words to describe what we’ve seen couldn’t form in our heads. This was not the case on Friday, July 3, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. We saw the Cape Verde national team, which Mardonius, a Persian general, may call a ragtag army, while describing the Greeks, going toe to toe against a well-drilled football team, and three-time World Cup winner, Argentina. The former Swedish international, Zlatan Ibrahimović, was so impressed with the Cape Verdeans, saying, “I can stand there and give applause to Cape Verde because it was all about Cape Verde. Small island with big dreams, and they almost threw out the big giant.” Yet big nations with huge football heritage, like Nigeria and Italy, are at home going back to a non-existent drawing board to qualify for the next festival of football.If what we saw from the Cape Verdeans in the group stage is defiance, what they displayed against Argentina, led by Messi, one of football’s greats, is nothing but unadulterated defiance.Defiance and the underdog are like chemicals heated in the crucible. But as the heating increases, their colouration becomes more evident. The underdog squares up with the giant with timidity, knowing full well it is going to lose. Its motivation is the applause from the public that naturally tends to support an underdog against giants. For defiance, it fights not on the terms of the giant. It does not wait for the applause of the crowd. Its motive is to slay the giant and become the buzzword on every lip.Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] In John 1:46, where this question was first posed by Nathanael, Philip replied, “Come and see.” The “come and see” open invitation by Philip, though made centuries ago, is an evergreen invitation. We saw glimpses of the Cape Verdeans in their matches against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.From three matches, we came and saw, but the words to describe what we’ve seen couldn’t form in our heads. This was not the case on Friday, July 3, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. We saw the Cape Verde national team, which Mardonius, a Persian general, may call a ragtag army, while describing the Greeks, going toe to toe against a well-drilled football team, and three-time World Cup winner, Argentina. The former Swedish international, Zlatan Ibrahimović, was so impressed with the Cape Verdeans, saying, “I can stand there and give applause to Cape Verde because it was all about Cape Verde. Small island with big dreams, and they almost threw out the big giant.” Yet big nations with huge football heritage, like Nigeria and Italy, are at home going back to a non-existent drawing board to qualify for the next festival of football.If what we saw from the Cape Verdeans in the group stage is defiance, what they displayed against Argentina, led by Messi, one of football’s greats, is nothing but unadulterated defiance.Defiance and the underdog are like chemicals heated in the crucible. But as the heating increases, their colouration becomes more evident. The underdog squares up with the giant with timidity, knowing full well it is going to lose. Its motivation is the applause from the public that naturally tends to support an underdog against giants. For defiance, it fights not on the terms of the giant. It does not wait for the applause of the crowd. Its motive is to slay the giant and become the buzzword on every lip.Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] From three matches, we came and saw, but the words to describe what we’ve seen couldn’t form in our heads. This was not the case on Friday, July 3, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. We saw the Cape Verde national team, which Mardonius, a Persian general, may call a ragtag army, while describing the Greeks, going toe to toe against a well-drilled football team, and three-time World Cup winner, Argentina. The former Swedish international, Zlatan Ibrahimović, was so impressed with the Cape Verdeans, saying, “I can stand there and give applause to Cape Verde because it was all about Cape Verde. Small island with big dreams, and they almost threw out the big giant.” Yet big nations with huge football heritage, like Nigeria and Italy, are at home going back to a non-existent drawing board to qualify for the next festival of football.If what we saw from the Cape Verdeans in the group stage is defiance, what they displayed against Argentina, led by Messi, one of football’s greats, is nothing but unadulterated defiance.Defiance and the underdog are like chemicals heated in the crucible. But as the heating increases, their colouration becomes more evident. The underdog squares up with the giant with timidity, knowing full well it is going to lose. Its motivation is the applause from the public that naturally tends to support an underdog against giants. For defiance, it fights not on the terms of the giant. It does not wait for the applause of the crowd. Its motive is to slay the giant and become the buzzword on every lip.Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] If what we saw from the Cape Verdeans in the group stage is defiance, what they displayed against Argentina, led by Messi, one of football’s greats, is nothing but unadulterated defiance.Defiance and the underdog are like chemicals heated in the crucible. But as the heating increases, their colouration becomes more evident. The underdog squares up with the giant with timidity, knowing full well it is going to lose. Its motivation is the applause from the public that naturally tends to support an underdog against giants. For defiance, it fights not on the terms of the giant. It does not wait for the applause of the crowd. Its motive is to slay the giant and become the buzzword on every lip.Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Defiance and the underdog are like chemicals heated in the crucible. But as the heating increases, their colouration becomes more evident. The underdog squares up with the giant with timidity, knowing full well it is going to lose. Its motivation is the applause from the public that naturally tends to support an underdog against giants. For defiance, it fights not on the terms of the giant. It does not wait for the applause of the crowd. Its motive is to slay the giant and become the buzzword on every lip.Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Since July 3, despite their exit in the Round of 32, the defiance of the Cape Verdeans is still an unfinished story.Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Defiance is not an heirloom. It springs within. It is an unquenchable desire to get things done. It is not spatially restricted to sports or football alone. It flows into every crack where it sees desire, passion and grit. A lot of these cracks that give rise to defiance litter the world today. One such nation that refused to be silent against the rhetorical question, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” is Estonia.At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Estonia, one of Europe’s smallest countries, became independent in 1991, with a population of 1.3 million people. Compared to the other breakaway Soviet republics, Estonia had few natural resources, an archaic infrastructure and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Reports have it that the country turned down Finland’s offer of its old analogue telephone system when the Nordic country scaled up its digital system. This action is a masterclass in defiance. Years later, Estonia ranked among the top players in information and communication technology and is often described in most reports as the Silicon Valley of Europe. I am pretty sure many African nations would have, with pomp and pageantry, accepted the Finnish offer and held on to the underdog tag that dwells on pity. But not Estonia, they chose the defiant path.Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Cracks of defiance can be found anywhere, particularly in places where the small call the bluff of the giants. The marketplace is not immune to such complexity. Notwithstanding this, tales abound of brands and individuals who have pulled rabbits out of hats and upset established market leaders.Related NewsExperts advocate balanced AI regulation to unlock digital economyLagos hosts QEDNG summit on Nigeria’s creative economyNestle reaffirms commitment to youth entrepreneurship, backs innovationFor years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] For years, Intel, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, was the numero uno in the computer processors, semiconductor, and chip business. What it does is provide the framework for others to follow. Then came Jerry Sanders’ Advanced Micro Devices, a company that was always playing second fiddle to Intel. Their actions of buying over a fabless chip company and breaking off its manufacturing arm showed they abhor the underdog tag. By 2014, when Dr Lisa Su became AMD CEO, they launched Ryzen in 2017 and changed AMD’s outlook in the industry.From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] From the exploits of Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, we learned that with a collective mentality, defiance cannot be curtailed. The germane question is how they breached the embattlement erected by the giants. The answer lies in a Yoruba aphorism that says, “Ohun ti a wa lo si Sokoto, o wa ni a po sokoto,” meaning: “What we are looking for in Sokoto is in our trousers’ pocket.” We need not look far for the defiant strategy; it is well-documented in motorsport.The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] The 1953 Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) in France, often regarded, albeit unofficially, as the “Triple Crown” (alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix), was to be the coronation for the Ferrari team. Ferrari had the advantage of a powerful engine, and Alberto Ascari, the world champion, drove for them. To the shock of the motorsport world, Jaguar, with a Jaguar C-Type car engine and Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt as drivers, still beat Ferrari to the Le Mans 24-hour race.It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] It is the fastest car that can cover the greatest distance that wins the Le Mans. The Ferrari car has a powerful engine with the best driver at the wheel. To them, they’re coasting to victory. But the Le Mans is not a dash. It is enduring in the countryside with varying topography, curves and stones.The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] The Jaguar team introduced disc brakes to their car, different from the drum brakes in the Ferrari. The result? The Jaguar team won the Le Mans by 30 minutes ahead of the almighty Ferrari.The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] The lesson from this is simple: you don’t apply what is accepted as the norm to displace the potentates. No animal can defeat a lion in its den, but it stands a chance outside the lion’s comfort zone if it is daring and smart enough to change the rules.Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Cape Verde, as a country, and its 26 players were playing in the World Cup for the first time; the best of their players play in backwater leagues in Europe. There is no way Cape Verde can match Argentina, a country that produces Maradona, Batistuta, Claudio Caniggia, Pablo Aimar and others. How can Cape Verde look Argentina straight in the face, a country that exported three coaches to Uruguay and Paraguay for the 2026 World Cup?Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Should they play the possession football South Americans are known for? Or probably sculpt their own Messi to life? The Cape Verdeans changed the rule; they harry Argentina with gusto, they run through walls for one another and push Argentina to the limit. Like Cape Verde, Estonia and AMD, never engage the terms of big nations and Intel, they changed the rules.The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] The whole world came to see the 2026 World Cup. They expected to see an underdog. Instead, they saw Vozinha’s saves and Lopes Cabral’s stunner, which will remain a long-time emblematic signature of defiance for years to come.Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected] Let’s thank Philip for the precious invite, and Nathanael for not refusing to see that something good can come from an archipelago called Cape Verde.Shodunke, a media practitioner, writes via[email protected]