Cape Verde have become the second smallest nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after beating Eswatini 3-0 to book their place at next year’s tournament.
The island nation knew that victory would secure their World Cup spot heading into the match.
Goals from Dailon Livramento and Willy Semedo either side of half-time saw the team close on the historic accomplishment.
A third goal from defender Stopira in second half stoppage time sealed the 3-0 victory to start celebrations at their national stadium.
With a population 524,877 according to the World Bank, Cape Verde is roughly the same size as Sheffield.
Iceland qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with the nation having an estimated population of around 335,000 at the time.
Cape Verde have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time after topping their group
A packed crowd watched Cape Verde beat Eswatini 3-0 to seal their place at the tournament
Cape Verde players celebrated after becoming the second smallest nation ever to qualify
The nation had been part of Portugal until it declared independence back in 1975.
Cape Verde had not been a member of FIFA until 1982 and first attempted to qualify for the World Cup back in 2002.
The national team, known as the Blue Sharks, had seen six unsuccessful attempts but will now feature in next summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The team, coached by Bubista, have qualified after finishing top of their group with seven wins, two draws and one defeat.
Cape Verde had spurned a chance to seal qualification last week after drawing 3-3 against Libya, but got over the line with victory on Monday.
The result saw them finish four points clear of Cameroon, who have the record for most appearances at the World Cup by an African nation with eight.
Cape Verde had shown improvement in recent years by qualifying for the African Cup of Nations on four occasions.
Cape Verde head coach Bubista began the celebrations after taking a 3-0 lead on Monday
Bubista was then mobbed by his players as Cape Verde celebrated the historic achievement
The national team reached the quarter-finals on debut in 2013 and repeated the feat a decade later in the Ivory Coast.
Despite reaching the World Cup, they failed to qualify for the upcoming African Cup of Nations later this year.
Cape Verde have benefited from FIFA’s expansion of the tournament to 48 teams, up from 32.
The expansion ensured nine direct qualification spots for African nations, marking an increase from five previously.
Cape Verde are the third nation assured of making their World Cup debuts next year, with Uzbekistan and Jordan also qualifying for the first time.
Cameroon now face a wait to see whether they will participate in Africa’s World Cup play-offs.
The Indomitable Lions, whose squad includes stars such as André Onana, Carlos Baleba and Bryan Mbeumo, need to be one of the four best runners-up across the group stage.
They would then need to win two knock-out matches to advance to an additional intercontinental qualifier in March.
World Cup 2026Andre Onana
