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Cape Verde beat Eswatini 3-0 on Monday to secure a spot at the FIFA World Cup 2026, booking their place in football’s global showpiece for the very first time.
The team from an archipelago off the coast of Senegal has about 550,000 inhabitants, making Cape Verde the country with the smallest population to represent Africa in the global showpiece.
Cape Verde won Group D with 23 points, four more than Cameroon, who hold the African record for World Cup appearances with eight. Cameroon drew 0-0 with Angola in Yaounde.
After dominating the first half of the 2026 qualifier, but seldom threatening to score, the Blue Sharks struck twice through Dailon Livramento and Willy Semedo in the first nine minutes after half-time before a 15,000 flag-waving crowd in Praia.
Livramento claimed his fourth goal of the 10-round qualifying campaign in 48 minutes, and Semedo struck six minutes later. Both goals came from close-range tap-ins.
Cape Verde added a third goal in added time when Stopira, a substitute for Joao Paulo, pounced on a loose ball to score.
Cape Verde rely heavily on players born outside the nation to Cape Verdean parents or grandparents. Livramento was born in Rotterdam and Semedo near Paris.
Eswatini had come to the 10-island archipelago with little attacking ambition, adopting a 5-4-1 formation in front of goalkeeper Khanyakwezwe Shabalala.
But after conceding twice, there was no way back for the team from southern Africa, who lost seven qualifiers and drew the other three.
Cape Verde spread the national team net wide with three starters based in Portugal and one each in the United States, Republic of Ireland, UAE, Romania, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, and Cyprus.
The remarkable qualification of Cape Verde came after they made a disappointing start to the 10-match campaign, drawing 0-0 at home with Angola and slumping to a 4-1 loss in Cameroon.
Those results left the Blue Sharks with four points from a possible nine, having won away to Eswatini in between.
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