Who is Deroy Duarte? He shocked the world champions, and his brother is a teammate in the national team at the WC

A trip to Miami for Deroy and his older brother Larosaalso a representative of the Cape Verde Islands, started in Rotterdam. Their mother, Maria da Cruz, drove her blue Toyota Starlet across the Dutch plains for ten years. Teenagers Laros and Deroy were talented players in the youth ranks of Sparta Rotterdam, dreaming of a professional career. Not even in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that one day they would run in front of 65,000 people against, according to many, the greatest player of all time.

Deroy Duarte was born on July 4, 1999 and plays as a central midfielder. He started his career in Sparta, a club where he went through all the junior categories. He made his professional debut for the first team in the 2017/18 season. Although Sparta was relegated to the second league that season, Duarte was part of the team that immediately returned to the Eredivisie the following season. The brothers played together for a while in Sparta, and Laros always wanted to play in midfield with his brother. According to his mother, Deroy is a different type of player, more defensively oriented. Their cooperation on the field was the key to the club’s return to the first league.

After Sparta, in 2021, the paths of the couple diverged. Deroy moved to Fortuna Sittard, while Laros went north to Groningen. Around the same time, they received an invitation to play for the Cape Verdean national team, based on the nationality of their parents.

Cape Verde became one of the most beautiful stories of the tournament, the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage. They qualified with three draws in the group, against European champions Spain (0-0), Uruguay (2-2) and Saudi Arabia (0-0). It was Deroy Duarte who was declared the player of the match in the key match against the Saudis.

​- Honestly, it’s crazy. I feel like I’m in a dream. I have always dreamed of playing in the World Cup. Being a gameč match and write history is something I could not even imagine – he said after that match.