Despite a meteoric rise from a FIFA ranking of 155th out of 204 nations a decade ago to 70th in 2013, a notch below Scotland, Cape Verde seemed unlikely to emerge from the group stage, where it was drawn against two former champions, South Africa and Morocco.

WSJ: Cape Verde's Surprise

That said, there is one wannabe bidder for Verde with advanced status: Co-operative Banking Group, owner of the Co-operative Bank, Smile and Britannia.

BBC: Why Co-Op may be front runner for Lloyds�� branches

The branches, grouped together under the name Verde, will be operating as a separate business within the Lloyds group under the TSB brand by this summer.

BBC: Lloyds losses narrow to ?570m in 2012