Houston. Tiny Cape Verde defied the odds to become the smallest country ever to reach the World Cup knockout stage, propelled by the stellar performances of 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha and the resilience that has come to define the island nation.

"We are small," Vozinha said. "But we have big hearts and we are fighters."

Cape Verde completed its remarkable group-stage campaign with a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Friday night, securing a place in the round of 32 in its World Cup debut.

The Atlantic island nation off the western coast of Africa had already held 2010 champion Spain to a scoreless draw and rallied from behind to earn a 2-2 result against Uruguay.

"The team was very eager to show this to the whole world," coach Bubista said while draped in Cape Verde's flag. "We are proud of having arrived at this stage. We have shown that we are a small country, but that we fight for the things that we want to achieve."

Cape Verde finished second in Group H with three points, behind Spain, which defeated Uruguay to win the group.

The Blue Sharks will next face defending champion Argentina in Miami on July 3.

Drawing all three group matches does not guarantee advancement at major tournaments. Wales achieved it in 1958, Ireland and the Netherlands did so in 1990, and Chile repeated the feat in 1998. New Zealand, however, recorded three draws at the 2010 World Cup and still failed to advance.

On the eve of the match, Bubista said, "Everyone is entitled to dream and nothing is impossible."

His team proved him right, overcoming daunting odds as a nation of just over 500,000 people reached the knockout stage.

One supporter, her face painted in the colors of the national flag, held a sign reading: "Small Islands, Big Dreams."

Cape Verde continued its fairytale run behind another outstanding performance from Vozinha, whose exploits during the tournament have helped him attract more than 16 million followers on Instagram.

The veteran goalkeeper made a crucial save in first-half stoppage time, collecting a header from Mohamed Kanno to keep Saudi Arabia scoreless. He denied Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat in the 66th minute and preserved the draw again in the 92nd minute by stopping Abdullah Al-Hamdan's effort.

"There is a lot of quality in our national team," Vozinha said. "Maybe many of you think the Cape Verdean player is not good enough. But we came here to show that we have a lot of quality. We are here to compete, and our players can play anywhere, in big competitions and big leagues."

A group of shirtless fans in the crowd painted letters across their chests to spell out Vozinha's name.

His biggest supporter, however, was his mother, Ana Candida Evora, who watched from a luxury suite while waving a small Cape Verde flag. It was her second match of the tournament after visa issues prevented her from attending her son's seven-save performance against Spain.

Cape Verde nearly found a winner in the 50th minute, but Kevin Pina's long-range effort sailed just over the crossbar. Laros Duarte was denied by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais in the 74th minute, and Nuno da Costa sent a late chance wide in the final seconds.

Ultimately, the missed opportunities did not matter.

Minutes after the final whistle, Spain completed its victory over Uruguay, sparking emotional celebrations among Cape Verde's players and supporters, many of whom cried with joy.

Having guided the team to unprecedented heights, Bubista was asked whether he had envisioned such a run before the tournament.

"I've always said that sooner or later Cape Verde would be on such a stage," he said. "Of course it's difficult to predict something like this, but I always believed."

Saudi Arabia finished the group stage with two points and was eliminated.

"We were very poor in terms of creating chances, controlling the game and producing attacking actions," Saudi Arabia coach Georgios Donis said. "You cannot win a game this way. It becomes very difficult."