Entertainment
Cabo Verde’s soccer success send travelers searching
Cabo Verde’s World Cup run ended in extra time, but its tourism bump may just be getting started.
Since the African island nation (commonly called Cape Verde in English) made its World Cup debut, its national team, nicknamed the Blue Sharks after the Atlantic waters surrounding the country, became the smallest nation by population to reach the knockout stage — and picked up a global following along the way.
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The team advanced without winning a match, holding Spain scoreless and twice coming from behind against Uruguay. In the round of 32, Cabo Verde pushed defending champion Argentina into extra time before narrowly losing 3-2.
As the run unfolded, U.S. Google searches for “Cabo Verde vacation” jumped by more than 5,000 percent compared with the previous year. Expedia recorded a similar surge, with searches from American users increasing by more than 800 percent. The interest extended beyond the United States: European travel operator TUI reported that searches for the destination had doubled since June 2025, while searches from Japan rose by 110 percent.
For a country of roughly 525,000 people, the match placed Cabo Verde in front of an audience far larger than its population and prompted many viewers to ask two basic questions: Where exactly is it, and should I go there on vacation?
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Get to know Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde is an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. Nine of the islands are inhabited, and each offers its own distinct character — from the beach resorts of Sal and Boa Vista to the mountains of Santo Antão and the dramatic volcanic landscape of Fogo.
Initially uninhabited, Cabo Verde was first settled by the Portuguese in the 15th century (Portuguese is still commonly spoken there). In the intervening centuries, Portugal used the islands as a base for its shipping routes and the international slave trade, according to the Cape Verdean Museum. The nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
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The country was already a major vacation destination before soccer fans began Googling it. In 2025 alone, its hotels welcomed nearly 1.25 million guests. During the first quarter of 2026, the country was up 16.8 percent in guest arrivals from the same period in 2025. Tourism accounts for roughly a quarter of the country’s economy, which had a GDP of about $3.1 billion in 2025.
American travelers remain a much smaller part of the industry. The United States accounted for only 1.1 percent of the country’s foreign hotel guests in 2025, which makes the current search spike notable even if only a fraction of those searches turn into booked trips.
This kind of tourism boost is exactly what countries hope for when they spend lots of money to host or participate in global sporting events. Qatar invested an estimated $220 billion in stadiums, transportation, hotels, and other infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, aiming to establish itself as an international destination. The strategy worked, at least partially — the country welcomed 4 million visitors in 2023 and is targeting more than 6 million annually by 2030.
Cabo Verde, by contrast, generated the same buzz with just four standout games and a handful of breakout stars, like goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias, better known as Vozinha, who gained roughly 20 million followers during the tournament.
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Cabo Verde wasn’t the only country to get a visibility boost from the World Cup. Norway’s run turned Erling Haaland into one of the tournament’s fan favorites, with Google searches for his name spiking 900 percent worldwide and over 5,000 percent in Canada.
That attention brought new fans to Norway’s team, its viral “Viking Row” celebration, and the country behind one of soccer’s biggest stars.
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Host cities benefited, too: during the tournament’s first two weeks, Boston-area hotel rooms and related tourism spending jumped 20 percent from the year before, while occupancy held steady at 87 percent.
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For Cabo Verde, the question is whether that surge of attention can extend beyond online searches and into its economy. For now, though, millions more people know the nation’s name and have seen enough of its beaches, mountains, and soccer highlights to consider opening another browser tab.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for July 19, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you like things large.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Big talk
The words are related to size.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe large things.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
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NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Supersize it.
NYT Strands word list for July 19
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Giant
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Behemoth
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Leviathan
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Mammoth
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Colossum
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for July 19, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you like to make food from scratch.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
A way to make butter.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
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Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter C.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
CHURN
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
Entertainment
Hurdle hints and answers for July 19, 2026
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it’ll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
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If you find yourself stuck at any step of today’s Hurdle, don’t worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
Rode over.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
DROVE
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Hurdle Word 2 hint
Salt water.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
BRINE
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Hurdle Word 3 hint
Bombardment.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
BLITZ
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Fabric.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
CLOTH
Final Hurdle hint
Tunes.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
MUSIC
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
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