CAPE Verde beat Mauritania with a Ryan Mendes penalty two minutes from time to book a second Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) quarter-final appearance in their history at the expense of the knockout stage debutants.
Winger Mendes fired the only goal of the game past Babacar Niasse from the spot after the goalkeeper had brought down Gilson Benchimol Tavares.
The Blue Sharks, who took seven points in the group stage, had all four attempts on target and dominated possession against the 105th-ranked side in the world in Abidjan.
Cape Verde will meet Morocco or South Africa in the quarter-finals at Yamoussoukro’s Charles Konan Banny Stadium on Saturday (20:00 GMT).
