Cape Verde clinches historic first qualification for FIFA World Cup

The land nation, located disconnected the African coast, becomes the second-smallest state to suffice for football’s planetary showpiece.

Cape Verde qualified for the FIFA 2026 World Cup connected Monday, beating Eswatini 3-0 successful their past radical lucifer to apical the standings up of Cameroon and implicit a fairytale campaign.

The wind-swept West African archipelago overcame first-half nerves to triumph successful the capital, Praia, with second-half goals from Dailon Livramento, Willy Semedo and seasoned Stopira, and publication a first-ever quality astatine the finals.

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They started 2 points up of Cameroon, whose 8 erstwhile World Cup last appearances are the astir by an African country. Cape Verde finished Group D connected 23 points, 4 up of Cameroon, who were held astatine location to a goalless gully by Angola.

Cape Verde seldom played planetary shot immoderate 25 years ago, but present heads to adjacent year’s finals successful North America arsenic 1 of the 9 African representatives.

They articulation Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Ghana, which person qualified already.

Livramento took vantage of Eswatini’s nonaccomplishment to wide to steer location the shot from adjacent scope 3 minutes into the 2nd half, portion Semedo besides had a tap-in for the 2nd six minutes later.

Stopira, 37, had lone travel connected arsenic a precocious substitute arsenic an acknowledgement of his agelong work with the squad since 2008, and enactment a cherry connected the barroom with a stoppage-time goal.

The island’s 600,000 inhabitants had been fixed the time disconnected to enactment their team, but determination was small to cheer successful a tentative archetypal fractional earlier Livramento scored. After that, the celebrations could not beryllium contained.

Cape Verde is the second-smallest state to suffice for the World Cup aft Iceland, which competed successful Russia successful 2018.

Cameroon volition apt beforehand to the playoffs for the 4 champion runners-up crossed the 9 African qualifying groups, but were jeered disconnected successful Yaounde aft failing to bushed Angola, whose 39-year-old goalkeeper, Hugo Marques, made respective telling stops.

Lopes celebrates his side’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with supporters astatine Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde successful Praia, Cape Verde [Cristiano Barbosa/Sportsfile via Getty Images]