Cape Verde sent shockwaves around football on Tuesday night by beating Portugal in Estoril.

The Blue Sharks secured a memorable 2-0 win over Fernando Santos' men, with Odair Fortes opening the scoring after 37 minutes in fortuitous fashion

Centre-back Gege grabbed the second with an expert far-post finish after a free kick, as the team from the tiny African archipelago held on comfortably to record the victory.

It was made even more remarkable after a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign, which saw Cape Verde eliminated in the group stages after drawing games against Tunisia, DR Congo and Zambia.

But while the win is the biggest in their history, it is not quite the upset some are suggesting.

Here is why last night's result is not actually a massive surprise.

1) World Ranking

Minnows you say? Far from. Cape Verde are in fact ranked 38th in the world!

That sees them just one place behind Wales - but one ahead of Gordon Strachan's revitalised Scotland.

And let's not forget how much England celebrated after their win in Glasgow in November.

Even further down are Sweden, Republic of Ireland and Montenegro - who have given the Three Lions plenty of problems in recent qualifying campaigns.

Below Cape Verde:

    39. Scotland
    40. Serbia
    41. Nigeria
    43. Northern Ireland
    45. Sweden
    49. Cameroon
    56. South Korea
    66. Republic of Ireland
    67. Montenegro.
    80. Paraguay

2) Plenty of players in top leagues

Quiz question: How many Cape Verde internationals can you name?

The answer is probably 0 - but these lot are hardly part-timers.

Star man and captain Heldon plies his trade with La Liga side Cordoba, while last night's goalscorers, Gege and Odair Fortes play their club football for Maritimo and Reims respectively.

Others are currently in Holland, Bulgaria and you guessed it, Portugal.

In fact, of the 17 players involved on Tuesday night, only two do not play in Europe.

3) Portugal made 11 changes from weekend qualifier

After narrowly beating Serbia on Sunday, Portugal boss Fernando Santos decided to ring the changes for last night's friendly.

Out went Bruno Alves, Fabio Coentrao and Joao Moutinho. Oh, and a certain skipper by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portugal man, who had scored half of his country's goals in qualifying was rested in Estoril, with four debutants given a chance to impress from the start.

Barring veteran Hugo Almeida, the caps of Portugal's starting line-up stood at just 24 pre-match - and midfielder Vieirinha had won 12 of them!

4) Motivation of playing against former colonisers

A string of 10 volcanic islands, Cape Verde was colonised in the 15th century after first being discovered by Portuguese explorers.

Inhabitants became full Portuguese citizens, along with other colonies, with the country an important staging post in the slave trade.

They gained independence in 1975 after decades of exploitation - with the national team playing their first football match four years later.

The two nations have met before and in 2010, Cape Verde managed a 0-0 draw against a full-strength Portugal side.

Last night, they went one step further.

5) things you didn't know about Cape Verde

    Several players from Cape Verde origin have played in the Premier League, most notably Nani and ex-Everton man Manuel Fernandes.

    Current boss Lucio Antunes, who also manages Angolan club Progresso, spent time at Real Madrid 'shadowing' Jose Mourinho after taking the job.

    Antunes took time away from his job as an air traffic controller to take up the role.

    Celtic legend Henrik Larsson qualifies to play for Cape Verde through his father.

    Cape Verde had to wait until 2013 before they qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations - losing 2-0 to Ghana in the quarter-finals.
(mirror.co.uk)