Cape Verde clinches historic qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup
Cape Verde has secured its first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup, becoming the second-smallest nation to reach the tournament.
Cape Verde now becomes the second-smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup, after Iceland, which made its debut in Russia in 2018.
The island nation capped off a fairytale campaign with a convincing 3-0 home win over Eswatini in their final group match, topping the standings ahead of continental heavyweight Cameroon.
Playing in the capital, Praia, Cape Verde overcame early nerves to dominate the second half, with goals from Dailon Livramento, Willy Semedo, and veteran Stopira sealing the historic victory.
Heading into the match two points ahead of Cameroon—Africa’s most frequent World Cup participants with eight previous appearances—Cape Verde needed a win to guarantee qualification.
They finished atop Group D with 23 points, four ahead of Cameroon, who were held to a goalless draw at home by Angola.
Just 25 years ago, Cape Verde had only a minimal presence on the international football stage.
Now, the wind-swept West African archipelago is heading to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America as one of Africa’s nine representatives.
They join Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and Ghana, who have already secured their spots at the finals.
Cape Verde’s breakthrough moment came early in the second half when Dailon Livramento capitalized on Eswatini’s failure to clear the ball, steering it home from close range just three minutes after the restart. Willy Semedo doubled the lead six minutes later with a simple tap-in.
Veteran defender Stopira, 37, was brought on late in the game as a tribute to his long service since debuting in 2008—and fittingly, he capped off the night with a stoppage-time goal to seal the 3-0 win.
The island's 600,000 inhabitants had been given the day off to support the team. While the first half was tentative and lacked excitement, Livramento's opener unleashed celebrations across the nation that couldn’t be contained.
Cameroon, meanwhile, will hope to secure a playoff spot as one of the four best runners-up from the nine African qualifying groups.
However, their goalless home draw against Angola drew frustration from fans in Yaoundé, who jeered the team off the pitch. Angola's 39-year-old goalkeeper, Hugo Marques, made several key saves to deny the hosts.
