CAPE VERDE DREAMS CAPTURES : MAIDEN WORLD CUP FOOTBALL

FOR Rafael Semmedo, a 14-year-old student, Cape Verde's World Cup qualification ''proves that with a lot of training and commitment, it's possible to achieve great things.''

PRAIA : Silveria Nedio beamed as she watched young footballers from the soccer school she is in charge of battling on the pitch in Praia ahead of Cape Verde's first ever World Cup :

'' We are a small country, but the dream is big,'' she said.

For the first time in history, the tiny volcanic archipelago of just 525,000 people, one of the smallest countries in the world, has qualified for the competition.

The mood was exuberant on a recent morning in late May at the Bola pra Frente [ Forward ] soccer school, where students hone their skills.

Their dribbles, feints, belly flops and goals were greeted with cheers, as shouts such as '' just pass the ball ! '' echoed about and youthful faces glistened with sweat.

Nedio, known as ''Nita'', is the president of the school, several of whose alumni are in the World Cup squad.

She believes that '' during the competition, Cape Verde will be seen like France, Argentina, as one of the world's great teams ''.

!WOW! thanks AFP.