Historic World Cup qualification for Cape Verde islanders
Cape Verde defeated Eswatini 3-0 on Monday, earning their first ever berth at the 2026 World Cup and joining footballs premier international event.
The squad hails from an island chain off Senegals coast, home to roughly 550,000 people, positioning Cape Verde as Africas smallest nation by population to compete in the tournaments global stage.
Cape Verde topped Group D with 23 points, surpassing Cameroon by four, the African side with the most World Cup participations at eight. Meanwhile, Cameroon ended in a 0-0 stalemate against Angola in Yaounde.
Having controlled the initial half of the 2026 qualifier yet rarely creating clear chances, the Blue Sharks netted twice early in the second half via Dailon Livramento and Willy Semedo, in front of 15,000 enthusiastic fans waving flags in Praia.
Livramento notched his fourth strike across the 10-match qualification series on the 48th minute, followed by Semedos goal just six minutes later. Each came from tap-ins at close quarters.
Cape Verde rounded out the scoring in stoppage time as substitute Stopira, replacing Joao Paulo, capitalised on a loose ball to find the net.
Cape Verde depends significantly on players born abroad to parents or grandparents from the nation. Livramento originates from Rotterdam, while Semedo grew up near Paris.
Eswatini arrived at the 10-island nation with minimal offensive intent, lining up in a 5-4-1 setup behind goalkeeper Khanyakwezwe Shabalala.
Once two goals down, recovery proved impossible for the southern African outfit, who suffered seven defeats and three draws in their qualifiers.
Cape Verde draws talent broadly for the national side, featuring three Portugal-based starters plus individuals from the United States, Republic of Ireland, UAE, Romania, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, and Cyprus.
This impressive achievement for Cape Verde followed a shaky beginning to the 10-game series, with a 0-0 home draw versus Angola and a heavy 4-1 defeat in Cameroon.
Those outcomes gave the Blue Sharks just four points out of nine possible, sandwiched by an away win over Eswatini.
Bounce back
Following the third matchday setback in Yaounde, Cape Verde strung together five straight victories in qualifiers, including vital one-goal triumphs away at Angola and hosting Cameroon.
This positioned the islanders to require three points from their last two games this month, starting with a thrilling 3-3 draw in Libya before facing Eswatini at home.
During the World Cup effort last year, Cape Verde struggled in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, securing only one win from six and missing the finals.
Even after underperforming in a group where Egypt and Botswana progressed, Cape Verdean leaders stood by veteran coach Pedro Leitao Brito.
With prior roles as national team assistant and stints at five domestic clubs, the coach, affectionately called Bubista, assumed control of Cape Verde in 2020.
The 55-year-old ex-centre-back, who earned 21 caps for his country, led Cape Verde to back-to-back AFCON appearances, in Cameroon three years prior and Ivory Coast recently.
Each time, they advanced to knockouts, bowing out in the last 16 before a quarter-final penalty shootout loss to South Africa, where four of their kicks were stopped.
In Group H, already-advanced Tunisia notched a ninth win by beating runner-up Namibia 3-0 close to Tunis, with Hannibal Mejbri of Premier League side Burnley contributing a goal.
The Carthage Eagles, set for their seventh World Cup outing next year, tallied 22 goals over 10 qualifiers without leaking any.
Though defeated, Namibia overtook Liberia on goal difference for second place, yet will rank lowest among second-placed teams and exit the competition.
After benching French coach Nicolas Dupuis following a 5-0 thrashing by Senegal last Friday, South Sudan held firm for a 0-0 Group B draw against fellow out-of-contention Togo.
The groups leadership hangs between Senegal on 21 points and the Democratic Republic of Congo trailing by two, both concluding their qualifiers on Tuesday.