STOUGHTON — In homes, bars, and community clubs, members of the Boston area’s large Cape Verdean community gathered Saturday morning to watch their national soccer team, which was playing for the first time in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

“The whole country is going crazy,” said Victor Rosa, 47, at a Stoughton club where Cape Verdeans gathered to watch their team play Ghana on Saturday. “This is the first time the country is so united. . . . Soccer is the main thing that brings us together.”