PRAIA, Cape Verde (AFP)—Thousands of ecstatic fans greeted Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks Sunday, waving banners at the Praia airport as the team returned after its slim defeat to Argentina in one of the World Cup’s most surprising matches.

The Sharks are set for a parade through the streets of the capital before meeting with the president and other members of the government of the small archipelago nation off west Africa.

Cape Verde progressed to the knockout stages in their first World Cup, thrilling supporters back home and gaining fans abroad as they confounded expectations.

In an epic last-32 contest in Miami, Cape Verde pushed Argentina to the brink but the reigning world champions snatched a 3-2 win in extra time.

The team’s arrival back home coincided with Cape Verde’s independence day.

“After the heroes who fought for our independence, we now have these heroes — the Blue Sharks”, fan Edmilson Correia, 28, told AFP from the airport crowd.

Cape Verde head coach Bubista spoke to the press after landing.

“We demonstrated that our World Cup qualification wasn’t down to luck. We showed hard work and resilience, and we left the United States with our heads held high”, he said.

Supporters dressed in the team blue strained to catch a glimpse of their heroes such as Sidny Lopes Cabral and Vozinha.

Twelve-year-old Ivan Goncalves said he was on the lookout for Cabral in particular because of his “fabulous goal against Argentina”.

Minister of Culture and Sports Antonio Duarte commended the Blue Sharks and their coach for “cementing Cape Verde’s status as a great nation”.

Despite the team’s loss to Argentina, celebrations erupted in Praia in the early hours of Saturday morning, as fans commemorated the fairytale journey and slim defeat against the world champions.

Cape Verde, a nation of just 500,000 people, on Sunday marked its 51st anniversary of independence from Portugal, which ruled the country for 500 years.