Cape Verde have booked their place as debutants at the 2026 World Cup after a 3-0 home victory over Eswatini secured top spot in their African qualifying group.With a population of around 525,000, the tiny Atlantic island nation will become the second-smallest country by population to play at a men’s World Cup finals, behind only Iceland, who qualified in 2018
The Blue Sharks overcame a nervous first 45 minutes amid windy conditions in Praia, with three second-half goals ensuring they topped Group D ahead of Cameroon. The Indomitable Lions needed to beat Angola and hope Cape Verde slipped up, but could only draw their game 0-0 in Yaoundé and must now hope to progress via the playoffs.Mehdi Taremi, Mohamed Salah, Luis Díaz (and Cristian Romero)World Cup 2026: which countries have qualified and how did they do it?Read moreDailon Rocha Livramento struck from close range just three minutes after the break against winless opponents, before fellow forward Willy Semedo made it 2-0 six minutes later to spark rapturous celebrations. Late substitute Stopira added a third in stoppage time to rubber-stamp qualification for a team ranked 70th in the world.
Cape Verde’s remarkable passage to the finals in North America came after they made a disappointing start to their 10-match campaign, drawing 0-0 at home with Angola and slumping to a 4-1 loss in Cameroon after winning away to Eswatini.The team also fared poorly in 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, winning only one match from six and failing to secure a place at a tournament where they have reached the quarter-finals twice, in 2013 and 2023. Despite flopping as Egypt and Botswana advanced, officials retained faith in the team’s long-serving coach, Pedro Leitão Brito.The manager popularly known as “Bubista” led his side to five consecutive victories in World Cup qualifying, including crucial one-goal wins away to Angola and at home to Cameroon. After failing to secure their finals place in a dramatic 3-3 draw in Libya last week, Cape Verde got the job done in front of 15,000 fans on Monday.In Group H, already-qualified Tunisia achieved a ninth victory by overcoming second-placed Namibia 3-0. Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri was among the scorers for the Carthage Eagles, who did not concede once in their 10 qualifying matches.
